Revisions relating to Tata Steel's plans to close blast furnaces in Port Talbot
The UK Trade Medicines Authority (TRA) has initiated two reviews of existing safeguard measures on hot-rolled flat and coiled steel. This was reported on the British government website.
This involves the suspension and review of the tariff quota (TRQ) for these products in response to requests from Tata Steel UK and Kromat Trading Ltd. Both processes relate to Tata Steel's recent proposal to close two blast furnaces in Port Talbot as part of the transition to the EAF.
According to TRA, if the new production plan is approved, it will significantly reduce Tata Steel's domestic hot-rolled steel production capacity over a period of time and require more imports to meet demand in the UK market.
This will mean that the current level of import quotas for hot-rolled steel will be insufficient for the UK's industrial needs. Additional imports needed to replace it will be subject to 25% tariffs when the current quota is exceeded.
The production plan to be reviewed by the agency is the same one presented by Tata Steel UK to unions for formal consultation on January 19 this year. The TRA will conduct its review in parallel with this process.
“If a different production plan is proposed as a result of the consultation, the TRA will take this into account when making recommendations to the Secretary of State for Business and Commerce,” the agency noted.
Preliminarily, TRA understands that safeguard measures on rolled steel should be suspended for nine months. At the same time, the revision of the tariff quota will determine whether it is advisable to change the method of quota allocation to allow importers to freely choose the origin of imports. Currently, tariff quotas are allocated to countries based on traditional trade flows.
“These reviews aim to prepare the current steel trading regime for the upcoming changes at Port Talbot. We want to avoid a situation where new imports needed to offset declining domestic production are subject to a 25% tariff, imposing additional costs on the UK economy,” said Oliver Griffiths, TRA General Secretary.
As the GMK Center previously reported, the UK plans to introduce a tax on imports of carbon-intensive products, including steel, by 2027, as an attempt to protect domestic producers from cheap imports from countries with less stringent climate policies. .
