Steel Quota Changes - A Step In The Right Direction

25th June 2026

Reacting to today’s government announcement of changes to its planned steel tariffs and quotas, William Bain, Head of Trade Policy at the BCC, said:

“These amendments are a welcome tilt towards the needs of the UK’s downstream steel users, employing 300,000 people in the UK.

“They were facing large additional import costs from next Wednesday and the quota changes, for downstream users in category one steel products in particular, will lessen the blow.

“Overall, the changes will reduce the proposed quota cuts from 60% to 51%, which aligns more closely with the EU’s plans. There is a significant increase in the previously proposed tariff free quotas to 3.2m tonnes. This is real move forward from the original proposals, particularly for category one products.

“But the government is walking a precarious tightrope in trying to balance the needs of steel producers and users and its hand has been forced by the actions of other global players.

“There will still be many losers. The government has committed to review these measures in a year’s time but should act more quickly if firms face severe financial distress.

“We will be speaking to firms in our network to gauge the impact these revised quotas will have on costs and jobs.

“If the pain is still felt to be too severe will be seeking further action on changes to the quotas and an extension to easements.

“It is good that the UK and EU appear to have reached a deal on the UK portion of the EU quota, but for the moment we are in the dark on what’s been agreed. That could still distort the picture further and we will evaluate those figures carefully when released.

“Although the government has listened and addressed real business concerns, the dialogue must continue to be responsive to the needs of thousands of downstream steel firms.”