Pressure grows to extend UK steel import quotas

theguardian.com:

The government is facing pressure from the UK steel industry and Labour to extend metal import limits brought in after Brexit, after a warning that a flood of products could cost British producers £150m in lost sales.

The international trade minister, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, must decide by 30 June whether to keep “steel safeguards” set out last year or to remove the import limits on five categories of products, which include tin mill products, steel quarto plates and wire rod.

High global steel prices have helped the industry in recent months following years of turmoil, but British steelmakers say that removing the UK limits ahead of the EU would disadvantage them compared with European rivals, who already benefit from relatively lower energy costs.

The protectionist 25% tariffs on imports above a set quota were first imposed by the EU in 2018, when the UK was still a member, and were designed to protect domestic industries from a glut of steel products diverted from the US after Donald Trump imposed tariffs on non-US steel.

Nick Thomas-Symonds, Labour’s shadow secretary for international trade, said: “Our steel industry has been through an incredibly challenging period in recent years. Now ministers are dragging their feet on confirming measures that would safeguard the steel sector, even though they are vital to protect livelihoods and communities.

“Labour backs British steel. It seems this Tory government is too busy trying to prop up the prime minister to focus on protecting jobs.”

Gareth Stace, director general of UK Steel, a lobby group, said: “It is essential that the steel safeguard is maintained in its entirety. Failure to do so would risk surges in steel imports, resulting in significant damage to UK producers and