The UK Office of Legal Protection (TRA) has published its statements on the expected final decision in the revision of tariff quotas (TRQ) TQ0077 and TQ0078, while maintaining the overall structure of protective measures, while proposing targeted amendments to Category 12A (commercial alloy rods and light profiles) as part of the UK steel protection regime.
TQ0077: Categories 4 and 7 will remain unchanged
During the revision of TQ0077, the tariff quotas applicable to category 4 (metal-coated sheet) and category 7 (non-alloy and other alloy sheets) were revised. The TRA assessed whether there had been a "change in circumstances" since the TRQ was applied. He came to the conclusion that:
- The country restrictions were partially exhausted during the investigation period (October 1, 2024 – September 30, 2025).
- Trade flows have shifted compared to the representative period (July 1, 2017 – June 30, 2018)
However, after assessing domestic production and direct competition, TRA found sufficient UK production for the product codes in question and determined that the use of quotas did not unduly restrict imports. As a result, TRA recommended maintaining the existing TRQ structure for categories 4 and 7 without excluding product codes from the scope.
The TQ0078 review of category 12A identifies structural changes in supplies
A separate review of TQ0078 focused on commercial bars and lightweight alloy profiles in category 12A. TRA identified two key changes in circumstances: the impact on traditional trade flows and the cessation of domestic production.
Accordingly, imports increased from 58,162 tons (2017-2018) to 94,009 tons during the investigation period (October 2024–September 2025), representing an increase of 61.63 percent, with strong growth from Spain and Poland.
TRA concluded that the production of certain category 12A goods at the Specialty Steel UK plant in Rotherham, the only plant in the UK capable of producing these products, ceased after bankruptcy proceedings. Publicly available information indicates that the facility has been mothballed and has not been produced since July 2024. TRA has determined that this significantly restricts domestic supplies and represents a change in circumstances.
After evaluating similar and directly competing products, TRA found sufficient production in the UK of products under the HS 7228 3089 00 and HS 7228 7010 00 codes. It is recommended to leave these two codes in the category
