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A prominent industry leader has urged the Government to enact strong reprisals against the European Union’s recent trade limitations on British steel, cautioning that they could severely harm the UK’s manufacturing sector.
Simon Boyd, managing director of Dorset-based structural steel firm REIDsteel, called on ministers to establish counter tariffs to shield UK producers, manufacturers, and supply chains after Brussels revealed strategies to reduce tariff-exempt quotas for British steel exports.
The EU’s updated measures will cut the UK’s tariff-exempt quota for structural steel exports by half and enforce a 50% tariff on all shipments exceeding that threshold, as part of a broader effort aimed at limiting imports of Chinese steel.
“The entire EU market for structural steel encompasses eight million tonnes annually, of which the UK currently receives a tariff-exempt quota of 108,000 tonnes — under 2% of the market,” Boyd stated.
“In contrast, the UK market is 800,000 tonnes each year while EU producers benefit from a tariff-free quota of 680,000 tonnes, representing 85% of the UK market. This hardly qualifies as fair trade.”
Boyd, who previously campaigned to preserve British Steel’s blast furnaces in Scunthorpe, remarked that the suggested changes would effectively leave British exporters “nearly excluded” from the European market while granting EU producers nearly unrestricted access to the UK.
“All UK manufacturers will feel the effects of this policy shift,” he asserted. “Exports will be adversely affected, and we might witness an influx of imported steel if we do not fortify our own trade regulations.”
He insisted that the Government should “respond decisively” by either negotiating an exemption from the EU’s anti-dumping regulations or threatening corresponding counter-tariffs to restore fairness.
“While the EU may need to bolster its struggling steel industry and combat Chinese dumping, this cannot be accomplished at the expense of the UK,” he cautioned. “Time is of the essence.”
As reported by industry organization UK Steel, the sector employs 36,800 workers directly and supports an additional 46,000 jobs within its supply chain. It contributes £1.7 billion directly to the economy, £2.2 billion via its supply network, and adds £3.1 billion to the UK’s trade balance.
Industry leaders are concerned that without prompt measures, the EU’s new tariffs could hasten the decline of Britain’s heavy industry and undermine the Government’s goal to revitalize domestic manufacturing.
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