Notice

Trade remedies notice 2021/01: safeguard measure: tariff-rate quota on steel goods

Updated 30 September 2024

This notice was removed in error on 4 July 2022, and republished on 7 October 2022. It was originally published on 30 June 2021 with effect from 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2022. It has been superseded by trade remedies notice 2022/01.

This public notice is published by the Secretary of State under regulation 52(4)(a) of the Trade Remedies (Increase in Imports Causing Serious Injury to UK Producers) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019^{[footnote 1]} and makes provision giving effect to the recommendation of the Trade Remedies Authority made in accordance with regulation 51 of those Regulations and entitled Transition review TF0006 – Safeguard measure on certain steel products^{[footnote 2]}.

1. Tariff-rate quota on steel goods

1.1 Goods description

The notice relates to the following goods (“steel goods”):

Goods category [**]	Goods category name	‘UK Global Tariff’ commodity code	‘UK Global Tariff’ commodity code	‘UK Global Tariff’ commodity code
A [1]	Non-alloy and other alloy hot-rolled sheet and strip	72 08 10 00	72 08 52 99	72 25 30 30
A [1]	Non-alloy and other alloy hot-rolled sheet and strip	72 08 25 00	72 08 53 10	72 25 30 90
A [1]	Non-alloy and other alloy hot-rolled sheet and strip	72 08 26 00	72 08 53 90	72 25 40 15
A [1]	Non-alloy and other alloy hot-rolled sheet and strip	72 08 27 00	72 08 54 00	72 25 40 90
A [1]	Non-alloy and other alloy hot-rolled sheet and strip	72 08 36 00	72 11 13 00	72 26 19 10
A [1]	Non-alloy and other alloy hot-rolled sheet and strip	72 08 37 00	72 11 14 00	72 26 91 20
A [1]	Non-alloy and other alloy hot-rolled sheet and strip	72 08 38 00	72 11 19 00	72 26 91 91
A [1]	Non-alloy and other alloy hot-rolled sheet and strip	72 08 39 00	72 12 60 00	72 26 91 99
A [1]	Non-alloy and other alloy hot-rolled sheet and strip	72 08 40 00	72 25 19 10	-
A [1]	Non-alloy and other alloy hot-rolled sheet and strip	72 08 52 10	72 25 30 10	-
B [2]	Non-alloy and other alloy cold-rolled sheet	72 09 15 00	72 09 28 90	72 11 90 20
B [2]	Non-alloy and other alloy cold-rolled sheet	72 09 16 90	72 09 90 20	72 11 90 80
B [2]	Non-alloy and other alloy cold-rolled sheet	72 09 17 90	72 09 90 80	72 25 50 20
B [2]	Non-alloy and other alloy cold-rolled sheet	72 09 18 91	72 11 23 20	72 25 50 80
B [2]	Non-alloy and other alloy cold-rolled sheet	72 09 25 00	72 11 23 30	72 26 20 00
B [2]	Non-alloy and other alloy cold-rolled sheet	72 09 26 90	72 11 23 80	72 26 92 00
B [2]	Non-alloy and other alloy cold-rolled sheet	72 09 27 90	72 11 29 00	-
C [4]	Metallic coated sheet	72 10 20 00	72 12 20 00	72 12 50 90
C [4]	Metallic coated sheet	72 10 41 00	72 12 30 00	72 25 91 00
C [4]	Metallic coated sheet	72 10 49 00	72 12 50 20	72 25 92 00
C [4]	Metallic coated sheet	72 10 61 00	72 12 50 30	72 25 99 00
C [4]	Metallic coated sheet	72 10 69 00 20	72 12 50 40	72 26 99 10
C [4]	Metallic coated sheet	72 10 69 00 80	72 12 50 61	72 26 99 30
C [4]	Metallic coated sheet	72 10 90 80	72 12 50 69	72 26 99 70
D [5]	Organic coated sheet	72 10 70 80	72 12 40 80	-
E [13]	Rebar	72 14 20 00	72 14 99 10	-
F [19]	Railway material	73 02 10 22	73 02 10 28	73 02 10 50
G [20]	Gas pipe	73 06 30 41	73 06 30 72	-
G [20]	Gas pipe	73 06 30 49	73 06 30 77	-
H [21]	Hollow section	73 06 61 10	73 06 61 92	73 06 61 99
I [25A]	Large welded tube (1)	73 05 11 00	73 05 12 00	-
J [25B]	Large welded tube (2)	73 05 19 00	73 05 31 00	73 05 90 00
J [25B]	Large welded tube (2)	73 05 20 00	73 05 39 00	-
K [26]	Other welded tube	73 06 11 00	73 06 50 21	73 06 50 80
K [26]	Other welded tube	73 06 19 00	73 06 50 29	73 06 69 10
K [26]	Other welded tube	73 06 30 12	73 06 30 80	73 06 69 90
K [26]	Other welded tube	73 06 30 18	73 06 40 20	73 06 90 00
K [26]	Other welded tube	73 06 21 00	73 06 40 80	-
K [26]	Other welded tube	73 06 29 00	-	-

** The number in square brackets indicates the corresponding category of steel products in Taxation Notice 2020/06: Safeguard measures on certain steel products – application of tariff rate quotas, which had effect from 11 p.m. on 31 December 2020 to 30 June 2021.

1.2 Duty amount

The additional amount of duty (“safeguard duty”) applicable to steel goods imported outside of the quota is 25% ad valorem.

The safeguard duty is applicable to the net free-at-the-frontier price of the good (before any other amount of import duty).

1.3 Duration

The tariff-rate quota set out in this notice has effect from 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2024.

The tariff-rate quota is an extension of the tariff-rate quota imposed by the European Union on behalf of the United Kingdom and other countries or territories that had effect in the United Kingdom from 19 July 2018 to 30 June 2021^{[footnote 3]}.

1.4 Quota amount and allocation

The quota is divided into 12 Quarters over 3 years and specifies for each goods category the amount of steel goods that may be imported free of safeguard duty in any given Quarter.

Right to access quota

The right to access the quota is granted by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs to importers in the United Kingdom on a first-come, first-served basis.

Importers are asked to cite the relevant order number set out in the Annex when applying to Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs to access a particular quota.

Limited access to unused quota in next Quarter of same year

Any unused quota allocated for steel goods originating in a country or territory remains available in the next Quarter for steels goods originating in that country or territory. Any unused balance may cumulate within the same year but any quota remaining at the end of each year is not available in the next year.

Open access to unused quota in Quarter 4 of each year

Importers of steel goods originating in a country or territory with an exhausted quota allocation for the year may, only in Quarter 4 of that year, apply for the right to use any remaining quota allocated for steel goods originating in all other countries or territories.

1.5 Quota amount and allocation for year 4

1 July 2021 to 30 June 2022, in tonnes (t), allocated quarterly:

• Quarter 1: 1 July 2021 to 30 September 2021

• Quarter 2: 1 October 2021 to 31 December 2021

• Quarter 3: 1 January 2022 to 31 March 2022

• Quarter 4: 1 April 2022 to 30 June 2022

Goods category	Origin country or territory	Year 4 Quarter 1	Year 4 Quarter 2	Year 4 Quarter 3	Year 4 Quarter 4
A	European Union	165,052	165,052	161,464	163,258
A	Turkey	22,982	22,982	22,482	22,732
A	Taiwan	12,792	12,792	12,514	12,653
A	Russia	11,782	11,782	11,526	11,654
A	All others	15,621	15,621	15,282	15,452
B	European Union	74,206	74,206	72,593	73,400
B	South Korea	11,146	11,146	10,904	11,025
B	India	9,106	9,106	8.908	9,007
B	Vietnam	6,240	6,240	6,104	6,172
B	All others	16,673	16,673	16,310	16,491
C	European Union	302,951	302,951	296,365	299,658
C	Taiwan	32,637	32,637	31,927	32,282
C	China	31,933	31,933	31,238	31,586
C	South Korea	24,610	24,610	24,075	24,343
C	All others	71,359	71,359	69,807	70,583
D	European Union	33,537	33,537	32,808	33,172
D	South Korea	10,884	10,884	10,647	10,765
D	All others	2,170	2,170	2,123	2,147
E	European Union	50,362	50,362	49,267	49,814
E	Turkey	29,015	29,015	28,384	28,699
E	Belarus	21,051	21,051	20,594	20,822
E	Ukraine	12,398	12,398	12,129	12,263
E	Russia	6,122	6,122	5,989	6,056
E	All others	3,433	3,433	3,359	3,396
F	European Union	9,186	9,186	8,986	9,086
F	All others	129	129	126	128
G	Turkey	14,368	14,368	14,056	14,212
G	European Union	6,472	6,472	6,331	6,402
G	India	3,386	3,386	3,312	3,349
G	United Arab Emirates	2,135	2,135	2,089	2,112
G	All others	675	675	661	668
H	Turkey	34,133	34,133	33,391	33,762
H	European Union	10,099	10,099	9,880	9,989
H	All others	3,411	3,411	3,337	3,374
I	European Union	5,790	5,790	5,664	5,727
I	Indonesia	4,584	4,584	4,485	4,535
I	Malaysia	2,348	2,348	2,297	2,323
I	South Korea	1,128	1,128	1,104	1,116
I	Saudi Arabia	1,117	1,117	1,093	1,105
I	All others	1,586	1,586	1,552	1,569
J	European Union	12,472	12,472	12,201	12,336
J	South Korea	4,219	4,219	4,127	4,173
J	Norway	3,623	3,623	3,544	3,583
J	Turkey	1,682	1,682	1,645	1,663
J	All others	3,568	3,568	3,491	3,529
K	European Union	20,298	20,298	19,857	20,078
K	United Arab Emirates	14,000	14,000	13,695	13,848
K	Turkey	10,238	10,238	10,015	10,127
K	China	5,524	5,524	5,404	5,464
K	Norway	2,985	2,985	2,920	2,952
K	All others	6,609	6,609	6,466	6,537

1.6 Quota amount and allocation for year 5

1 July 2022 to 30 June 2023, in tonnes (t), allocated quarterly:

• Quarter 1: 1 July 2022 to 30 September 2022

• Quarter 2: 1 October 2022 to 31 December 2022

• Quarter 3: 1 January 2023 to 31 March 2023

• Quarter 4: 1 April 2023 to 30 June 2023

Goods category	Origin country or territory	Year 5 Quarter 1	Year 5 Quarter 2	Year 5 Quarter 3	Year 5 Quarter 4
A	European Union	170,004	170,004	166,308	168,156
A	Turkey	23,671	23,671	23,157	23,414
A	Taiwan	13,176	13,176	12,890	13,033
A	Russia	12,135	12,135	11,871	12,003
A	All others	16,090	16,090	15,740	15,915
B	European Union	76,432	76,432	74,771	75,602
B	South Korea	11,481	11,481	11,231	11,356
B	India	9,379	9,379	9,175	9,277
B	Vietnam	6,427	6,427	6,287	6,357
B	All others	17,173	17,173	16,799	16,986
C	European Union	312,039	312,039	305,256	308,647
C	Taiwan	33,616	33,616	32,885	33,250
C	China	32,891	32,891	32,176	32,533
C	South Korea	25,349	25,349	24,798	25,073
C	All others	73,500	73,500	71,902	72,701
D	European Union	34,543	34,543	33,792	34,167
D	South Korea	11,210	11,210	10,966	11,088
D	All others	2,235	2,235	2,187	2,211
E	European Union	51,873	51,873	50,745	51,309
E	Turkey	29,885	29,885	29,236	29,560
E	Belarus	21,683	21,683	21,211	21,447
E	Ukraine	12,770	12,770	12,493	12,631
E	Russia	6,306	6,306	6,169	6,236
E	All others	3,536	3,536	3,459	3,498
F	European Union	9,461	9,461	9,256	9,359
F	All others	133	133	130	131
G	Turkey	14,799	14,799	14,478	14,638
G	European Union	6,666	6,666	6,521	6,594
G	India	3,487	3,487	3,412	3,449
G	United Arab Emirates	2,199	2,199	2,151	2,175
G	All others	696	696	680	688
H	Turkey	35,157	35,157	34,393	34,775
H	European Union	10,402	10,402	10,176	10,289
H	All others	3,514	3,514	3,437	3,475
I	European Union	5,963	5,963	5,834	5,899
I	Indonesia	4,722	4,722	4,619	4,671
I	Malaysia	2,419	2,419	2,366	2,393
I	South Korea	1,162	1,162	1,137	1,149
I	Saudi Arabia	1,151	1,151	1,126	1,138
I	All others	1,634	1,634	1,599	1,616
J	European Union	12,846	12,846	12,567	12,706
J	South Korea	4,346	4,346	4,251	4,298
J	Norway	3,731	3,731	3,650	3,691
J	Turkey	1,732	1,732	1,694	1,713
J	All others	3,675	3,675	3,595	3,635
K	European Union	20,907	20,907	20,453	20,680
K	United Arab Emirates	14,420	14,420	14,106	14,263
K	Turkey	10,545	10,545	10,316	10,430
K	China	5,689	5,689	5,566	5,628
K	Norway	3,074	3,074	3,007	3,041
K	All others	6,808	6,808	6,660	6,734

1.7 Quota amount and allocation for year 6

1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024, in tonnes (t), allocated quarterly:

• Quarter 1: 1 July 2023 to 30 September 2023

• Quarter 2: 1 October 2023 to 31 December 2023

• Quarter 3: 1 January 2024 to 31 March 2024

• Quarter 4: 1 April 2024 to 30 June 2024

Goods category	Origin country or territory	Year 6 Quarter 1	Year 6 Quarter 2	Year 6 Quarter 3	Year 6 Quarter 4
A	European Union	174,625	174,625	172,727	172,727
A	Turkey	24,315	24,315	24,050	24,050
A	Taiwan	13,534	13,534	13,387	13,387
A	Russia	12,465	12,465	12,330	12,330
A	All others	16,527	16,527	16,348	16,348
B	European Union	78,510	78,510	77,657	77,657
B	South Korea	11,793	11,793	11,665	11,665
B	India	9,634	9,634	9,530	9,530
B	Vietnam	6,602	6,602	6,530	6,530
B	All others	17,640	17,640	17,448	17,448
C	European Union	320,522	320,522	317,038	317,038
C	Taiwan	34,530	34,530	34,154	34,154
C	China	33,785	33,785	33,418	33,418
C	South Korea	26,038	26,038	25,755	25,755
C	All others	75,498	75,498	74,677	74,677
D	European Union	35,482	35,482	35,096	35,096
D	South Korea	11,515	11,515	11,390	11,390
D	All others	2,296	2,296	2,271	2,271
E	European Union	53,283	53,283	52,704	52,704
E	Turkey	30,698	30,698	30,364	30,364
E	Belarus	22,272	22,272	22,030	22,030
E	Ukraine	13,117	13,117	12,975	12,975
E	Russia	6,477	6,477	6,407	6,407
E	All others	3,632	3,632	3,593	3,593
F	European Union	9,719	9,719	9,613	9,613
F	All others	137	137	135	135
G	Turkey	15,202	15,202	15,036	15,036
G	European Union	6,848	6,848	6,773	6,773
G	India	3,582	3,582	3,543	3,543
G	United Arab Emirates	2,259	2,259	2,234	2,234
G	All others	715	715	707	707
H	Turkey	36,113	36,113	35,721	35,721
H	European Union	10,685	10,685	10,569	10,569
H	All others	3,609	3,609	3,570	3,570
I	European Union	6,125	6,125	6,059	6,059
I	Indonesia	4,850	4,850	4,798	4,798
I	Malaysia	2,485	2,485	2,458	2,458
I	South Korea	1,193	1,193	1,181	1,181
I	Saudi Arabia	1,182	1,182	1,169	1,169
I	All others	1,678	1,678	1,660	1,660
J	European Union	13,195	13,195	13,052	13,052
J	South Korea	4,464	4,464	4,415	4,415
J	Norway	3,833	3,833	3,791	3,791
J	Turkey	1,779	1,779	1,760	1,760
J	All others	3,775	3,775	3,734	3,734
K	European Union	21,476	21,476	21,242	21,242
K	United Arab Emirates	14,812	14,812	14,651	14,651
K	Turkey	10,832	10,832	10,714	10,714
K	China	5,844	5,844	5,781	5,781
K	Norway	3,158	3,158	3,123	3,123
K	All others	6,993	6,993	6,917	6,917

1.8 Goods excluded

Exclusion for steel goods originating in signatory countries or territories

All steel goods originating in a signatory country or territory specified below are excluded from:

(a) the quota amount allocated for all other countries or territories; and

(b) the application of the safeguard duty.

Signatory countries or territories:

• Antigua and Barbuda

• Barbados

• Belize

• Bahamas

• Botswana

• Côte d’Ivoire

• Dominica

• Dominican Republic

• Eswatini

• Grenada

• Guyana

• Jamaica

• Kenya

• Lesotho

• Mozambique

• Namibia

• St Kitts and Nevis

• St Lucia

• St Vincent and the Grenadines

• South Africa

• Trinidad and Tobago

Limited exclusion for steel goods originating in developing countries or territories

Except for steel goods in a goods category originating in a developing country or territory annotated with that goods category, any steel goods originating in a developing country or territory specified below are excluded from:

(a) the quota amount allocated for all other countries or territories; and

(b) the application of the safeguard duty.

Key: * denotes a quota amount for the goods category is allocated for the country or territory;

~ denotes the quota amount for the goods category allocated to all other countries or territories is available for the country or territory.

Developing countries or territories:

• Afghanistan

• Albania

• Angola

• Antigua and Barbuda

• Argentina

• Armenia

• Bahrain

• Bangladesh

• Barbados

• Belize

• Benin

• Bolivia

• Botswana

• Brazil (Cat. B~)

• Brunei

• Burkina Faso

• Burundi

• Cape Verde

• Cambodia

• Cameroon

• Central African Republic

• Chad

• Chile

• China (Cats.: C; K)

• Colombia

• Congo

• Costa Rica

• Côte d’Ivoire

• Cuba

• Democratic Republic of the Congo

• Djibouti

• Dominica

• Dominican Republic

• Ecuador

• Egypt

• El Salvador

• Eswatini

• Fiji

• Gabon

• The Gambia

• Georgia

• Ghana

• Grenada

• Guatemala

• Guinea

• Guinea-Bissau

• Guyana

• Haiti

• Honduras

• Hong Kong

• India (Cats.: B; C~; G; K~)

• Indonesia (Cat.: I*)

• Jamaica

• Jordan

• Kazakhstan

• Kenya

• Kuwait

• Kyrgyzstan

• Laos

• Lesotho

• Liberia

• Macao

• Madagascar

• Malawi

• Malaysia (Cat.: I*)

• Maldives

• Mali

• Mauritania

• Mauritius

• Mexico

• Moldova

• Mongolia

• Montenegro

• Morocco

• Mozambique

• Myanmar (Burma)

• Namibia

• Nepal

• Nicaragua

• Niger

• Nigeria

• North Macedonia

• Oman

• Pakistan

• Panama

• Papua New Guinea

• Paraguay

• Peru

• Philippines

• Qatar

• Rwanda

• St Kitts and Nevis

• St Lucia

• St Vincent and the Grenadines

• Samoa

• Saudi Arabia (Cats.: I*; J~)

• Senegal

• Seychelles

• Sierra Leone

• Solomon Islands

• South Africa

• Sri Lanka

• Suriname

• Tajikistan

• Tanzania

• Thailand

• Togo

• Tonga

• Trinidad and Tobago

• Tunisia

• Turkey (Cats: A; C~; E; G; H; J; K)

• Uganda

• Ukraine (Cats.: B~; E*)

• United Arab Emirates (Cats.: G; H~; K)

• Uruguay

• Vanuatu

• Venezuela

• Vietnam (Cat. B*)

• Yemen

• Zambia

• Zimbabwe

2. Transition review TF0006 – Safeguard measure on certain steel products

2.1 Summary of the review

In accordance with regulation 49(4) of the Trade Remedies (Increase in Imports Causing Serious Injury to UK Producers) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (“the Regulations”) the Trade Remedies Authority (“the TRA”) has conducted a transition review and considered whether goods belonging to each specified category of steel products were, during the same investigation period considered by the European Commission in connection with the EU tariff rate quotas, imported into the United Kingdom in increased quantities. Where the TRA determined that goods were imported in increased quantities, and where those increases were considered significant in accordance with regulation 5, a further consideration in accordance with regulation 49(4)(a)-(d) of the Regulations was made on whether;

• the importation of those goods in increased quantities would be likely to recur if they were no longer subject to a tariff rate quota

• there would be serious injury to United Kingdom producers of the like goods and directly competitive goods if goods belonging to that category were no longer subject to a tariff rate quota

• the continuation of a tariff rate quota is necessary to facilitate the adjustment of the United Kingdom producers of the like goods and directly competitive goods to the importation of goods belonging to that category; and

• whether alternative tariff rate quotas or the application of a safeguarding amount to goods belonging to that category would better meet the aim of preventing serious injury to the United Kingdom producers of the like goods and directly competitive goods

In accordance with regulation 49(5) of the Regulations, the TRA review further considered whether it is appropriate to increase the amount of any of the tariff rate quotas; vary (or provide for) the allocation of any of the tariff rate quotas; reduce the additional amount of import duty; reduce or extend the period for which goods are subject to the tariff rate quotas; vary the pace of liberalisation; and vary (or provide for) the terms on which a part or the whole of any of the tariff rate quotas is allocated or may be utilised.

This review has also considered, in accordance with regulation 50(5) of the Regulations, whether the TRA is satisfied that the application of the measure meets the United Kingdom’s economic interest test. This consideration has been made where the TRA’s final determination is that the tariff rate quotas applied to goods should be varied.

The Statement of Intended Preliminary Decision (“the SIPD”) was published on 19 May 2021 and, due to the very tight timeline to which this transition review is subject, was followed by a period of 7 days for the reception of submissions in relation to it. Again, due to the tight timeline, the TRA was unable to grant extensions for submissions. The determinations of the TRA were made following the consideration of comments received during this period, pursuant to regulation 29(2) of the Regulations.

The TRA reviewed 19 product categories, which contained 253 different product codes in total. The total number of product codes in the TRA’s determinations reduced by 17 codes to 236 as a result of a scope change which combined 2 categories. The TRA is recommending that the measure is revoked on 130 product codes and extended on 106 product codes. This represents revocation of all codes in 9 product categories and extension of the application of the measure on 10 product categories with 2 of those categories amended (i.e. some codes are revoked).

2.2 Recommendation of the Trade Remedies Authority

In accordance with regulation 51 of the Regulations, and as a result of the determinations made pursuant to regulation 50 of the Regulations, the TRA made the following recommendations to the Secretary of State for International Trade.

The TRA recommended in accordance with regulations 51(1), (3)(c) and (8) of the Regulations that the application of the tariff rate quota be revoked, where goods belonging to a specified category of steel products were either not being produced by United Kingdom producers or not being imported into the United Kingdom in increased quantities during the period of investigation.

The TRA also recommended in accordance with regulations 51(1), (3)(c) and (8) of the Regulations that the application of the tariff rate quota be revoked, where goods belonging to a specified category of steel products were not being imported into the United Kingdom in increased quantities deemed to be significant, or are not causing serious injury to the United Kingdom domestic industry, as detailed in the table below.

The TRA recommended in accordance with regulations 51(1), (3)(c), (4) and (8) of the Regulations that the application of the tariff rate quota be revoked, where goods belonging to a specified category of steel products were determined not to meet the Economic Interest Test.

The TRA further recommended in accordance with regulations 51(1), (3)(a), (4), (6), (7) and (8) of the Regulations that the application of the tariff rate quota be varied, where goods belonging to a specified category of steel products were being imported into the United Kingdom in increased quantities deemed significant, as their application met the Economic Interest Test and they continue to be necessary to facilitate adjustment of United Kingdom producers to the importation of those goods and there is evidence that United Kingdom producers are adjusting to the importation of those goods. The variation of the measure was recommended to be on the following terms:

• goods belonging to each of these categories of steel products are subject to a tariff rate quota and an out-of-quota safeguarding duty of 25%

• the measure is extended for a period of 3 years

• the liberalisation rate for the measure is set at 3% for each year that the measure is in place, thereby ensuring that the pace of liberalisation is maintained

• goods originating from developing countries members of the WTO that are low volume exporters as defined in regulation 46(6)-(7) of the Regulations are excepted from the application of the tariff rate quotas pursuant to regulation 43 of the Regulations, and some FTA partners are excluded from the scope of this transition review pursuant to regulation 44 of the Regulations

2.3 Reasons for the recommendation

In the injury analysis conducted by the TRA as part of the transition review, a significant increase in imports was found for all product categories apart from product categories 6 and 28. The likelihood of a reoccurrence of imports in increased quantities was found for all product categories if the safeguard measure was revoked. For the assessment on the likelihood of recurrence of serious injury, the TRA found that there is a likelihood that serious injury would recur if the safeguard measure was revoked for all product categories, except 7. Therefore, product categories 6, 7 and 28 were removed from the recommended measure and were not assessed in the economic interest test.

In the significance assessment, the TRA found that the scrap metal industry, coal industry and importers of steel products are relatively small in terms of both numbers of employees and Gross Value Added (GVA). The TRA also found that the United Kingdom steel sector is economically significant with higher employment figures in comparison to the upstream industry and importers. Due to the prevalence of steel as an input, the downstream industries are an order of magnitude bigger than the steel industry by all metrics.

From assessing the impacts of the proposed extended safeguard measure, the TRA found that the measure would significantly benefit the United Kingdom steel and scrap metal industries. The TRA found that importers of steel into the United Kingdom could incur some costs. The size of these costs would depend on the extent to which imports exceed the quota amounts with the extension of the safeguard measure. While the impact on individual downstream businesses and consumers is expected to be fairly small, owing to the large numbers affected, total costs for downstream sectors and consumers may be significant overall but risks to employment as considered low. There is evidence to suggest that price increases might be greater for products like railway material, stainless wire rod and organic coated sheets than others. Additional evidence following the publication of the SIPD, raised concerns about the impact of the measure on category 15, due to the impact on the downstream industry.

The TRA found no evidence of major geographic effects for upstream industries because the significance of steel to the coal sector is fairly small, and because there was a lack of data for the scrap metal industry. For the United Kingdom steel industry, the TRA found evidence that there could be significant benefits of extending the safeguard measure in certain deprived areas such as Port Talbot, due to the presence of the steel industry as a major employer and the threats to employment in the industry if the measure was revoked. The TRA does not consider it likely that there would be any significant geographic impacts for importers due to low employee numbers. The downstream industries are concentrated in a variety of areas, however due to the low impact on individual companies, the TRA does not expect there to be significant regional impacts. There is no evidence to suggest any particular groups will be impacted.

The analysis of the competitive environment highlights variation in market shares across the product categories. On consequences for the competitive environment, there are likely to be positive and negative impacts from the proposed extended measure. The quotas are set at a level that maintains traditional trade flows, meaning most imports will be unconstrained and competition would not be affected up to the quota amounts. However, once the quota amounts are reached, the level of competition in the steel market will be inhibited.

On other factors, the TRA received evidence in response to the SIPD that extending the measure on category 15 would hinder the growth of downstream industries. The only known United Kingdom producer of this category is supportive of the measure being revoked on this category and also has a very high share of known consumption (over 80%) that the TRA considers to be relevant under the economic interest test.

The Secretary of State for International Trade guidance to the TRA on the economic interest test states that there is no starting presumption that a safeguard measure is in the economic interest of the United Kingdom, and that a measure is not in the economic interest of the United Kingdom, if the negative impacts are disproportionate to the positive impacts.

The key positive impacts of extending the measure, as compared to revoking the measure, that the TRA has identified as part of the review include:

• Benefits to the United Kingdom steel industry from removing the likelihood of serious injury, in light of global overcapacity and the risk of trade diversion due to continuation of the measure in other major markets. The steel industry is economically significant with a GVA of over £2.2 billion and employment of around 33,000, some of which is concentrated in economically deprived areas like Neath Port Talbot and North Lincolnshire.

• Benefits to upstream suppliers of scrap metal that rely on demand from the steel industry and would suffer if there were serious injury to United Kingdom steel producers.

• Some positive impacts on the competitive environment arising from United Kingdom producers being able to remain viable as suppliers to the United Kingdom market, preserving the ability and incentives to compete in the longer term and offering locally sourced steel preferred by some customers.

On the other hand, the key negative impacts include:

• Negative impact on importers, resulting from the application of tariff rate quotas on goods they import, which will likely reduce their ability to compete with United Kingdom producers. The evidence suggests that importers are a lot less economically significant than United Kingdom steel producers with a smaller GVA and turnover and employing relatively few people both overall and in any particular area.

• Increase in costs to downstream industries from the measure being extended as compared to them being revoked, resulting from the application of a 25% out-of-quota safeguarding tariff on import volumes above the quota amount. However, the TRA found that the impact is likely to be smaller (0-19% across categories) and that steel costs are likely to account for a small proportion (under 1%) of turnover, indicating that even a relatively large change in the price of steel products is unlikely to have a significant impact on average businesses in these groups. Taken together, these downstream industries are more economically significant than United Kingdom producers and the aggregate impact on them may be large.

• Some negative impacts on the competitive environment, particularly on the number or range of suppliers and their ability and incentives to compete beyond the quota amount. The market share of United Kingdom producers varies considerably across product categories.

Given the large number of countries and regions from which products under all categories are imported into the United Kingdom, the TRA did not consider that the relatively high market share of United Kingdom producers is likely to create significant negative consequences for the competitive environment.

In the SIPD, the TRA concluded that extending the measure for subcategory 25B would not be in the economic interest test of the United Kingdom, due to the small market share of United Kingdom producers, the possibility of increased costs to downstream users under strong demand conditions in the future and the lack of a presumption for safeguard measure being in the economic interest of the United Kingdom. Information submitted following the publication of the SIPD by trade body UK Steel confirms that there is additional production of large welded tubes under subcategory 25B, which significantly increases the market share estimates for United Kingdom producers. Assessing this alongside other available evidence, the TRA therefore considered extending the measure for subcategory 25B to be in the economic interest of the United Kingdom.

In light of the submission relating to category 15 received following the publication of the SIPD, the TRA concluded that, on the basis of the evidence available, extending the measures for category 15 would not be in the economic interest test of the United Kingdom.

For all product categories other than 15 (1, 2, 4, 5, 13, 19, 20, 21, 25A, 25B and 26), the TRA recognised that there are some potentially significant negative impacts as summarised above, but did not consider them to outweigh or be disproportionate to the more significant positive impacts. The main reasons for this were that the available evidence showed that:

• extending the measure would prevent the likelihood of serious injury to the economically significant steel sector facing a challenging global market

• that injury could include potential adverse impacts on jobs in the steel sector resulting from the measure being revoked, which would be concentrated in economically deprived areas of the United Kingdom

• the ability to import within the quota amount without needing to pay the 25% out-of-quota safeguarding amount would limit the increased costs faced by downstream users and importers, and help maintain historical trade flows of steel products

Having considered all of the evidence presented by interested parties, including submissions following publication of the SIPD, and all of the factors listed in the legislation, the TRA has concluded that the economic interest test is met for product categories 1, 2, 4, 5, 13, 19, 20, 21, 25A, 25B and 26, but not for product category 15. It is therefore recommended that this category is removed from the coverage of the extended steel safeguard measure.

3. Annex

Order numbers for importers to access the tariff-rate quota on steel goods

Goods category	Origin country or territory	Order number
A	European Union	058001
A	Turkey	058967
A	Taiwan	058085
A	Russia	058084
A	All others	058002
B	European Union	058003
B	South Korea	058802
B	India	058801
B	Vietnam	058086
B	All others	058005
C	European Union	058006
C	Taiwan	058088
C	China	058087
C	South Korea	058816
C	All others	058007
D	European Union	058010
D	South Korea	058827
D	All others	058011
E	European Union	058018
E	Turkey	058866
E	Belarus	058019
E	Ukraine	058868
E	Russia	058089
E	All others	058020
F	European Union	058030
F	All others	058031
G	Turkey	058911
G	European Union	058032
G	India	058912
G	United Arab Emirates	058090
G	All others	058033
H	Turkey	058916
H	European Union	058034
H	All others	058035
I	European Union	058091
I	Indonesia	058092
I	Malaysia	058093
I	South Korea	058095
I	Saudi Arabia	058094
I	All others	058036
J	European Union	058037
J	South Korea	058974
J	Norway	058096
J	Turkey	058971
J	All others	058038
K	European Union	058039
K	United Arab Emirates	058948
K	Turkey	058947
K	China	058949
K	Norway	058040
K	All others	058041

1. S.I. 2019/449, amended by S.I. 2019/1076, S.I. 2019/1319, S.I. 2020/99, and S.I. 2020/730. ↩

2. Transition review TF0006 – Safeguard measure on certain steel products (dated 3 June 2021) may be found online at www.trade-remedies.service.gov.uk/public/case/TF0006/. ↩

3. The tariff-rate quota had effect in the United Kingdom from 19 July 2018 to 11 p.m. on 31 December 2020 by virtue of EUR 2018/1013 (OJ No. L 181, 18.07.2018, p. 39, amended by OJ No. L 286, 14.11.2018, p. 17) and EUR 2019/159 (OJ No. L 31, 01.02.2019, p. 27, amended by OJ No. L 248, 27.09.2019, p. 28, OJ No. L 12, 16.01.2020, p. 13, and OJ No. L 206, 30.06.2020, p. 27) and from 11 p.m. on 31 December 2020 to 30 June 2021 by virtue of Taxation Notice 2020/06: Safeguard measures on certain steel products – application of tariff rate quotas. ↩