UK requests review of tariff quotas on steel from developing countries

At the request of the UK industry, TRA will consider exemptions for developing countries for rebar, one of the steel categories covered by the UK steel safeguard measure. To make the review more efficient, TRA consulted with the industry on scaling up. The TRA review will now consider developing country exemptions that apply to all grades of steel covered by the measure. This will expedite TRA's planned annual review of developing country exemptions so that businesses can benefit more quickly from any changes that are needed for tariffs. The existing quotas were set in July 2022.

Imports from some developing countries may exceed 3% of total UK imports.
Tariff quotas (TRQs) are part of the structure of the World Trade Organization (WTO). They determine how much of a product can be imported from a country before being subject to higher tariffs. Imports from developing countries are exempted from these tariff quotas if the imported goods represent less than 3% of the total imports of that product and if these small volume exporters collectively account for no more than 9% of the total imports of that product. Members of the WTO are responsible for managing exemptions for their developing countries from tariff quotas.

TRA will assess the need to amend exemptions for imports from developing countries based on updated import data. The TRA estimate will now take into account imports of all grades of steel subject to the steel safeguard measure and from all developing countries, including countries that are currently excluded from the measure and those that are not.