UK Steel: EU unveils plan to slash import quotas, with potentially devastating results for UK steelmakers
The UK steel industry’s access to the European Union, by far our most important export market, could be severely curtailed after measures announced in Brussels today.
The proposal set out by the European Commission would slash existing tariff-free import quotas to around 18 million tonnes, while the out-of-quota tariff would be doubled to 50%. This would return EU import volumes to levels last seen in 2013, more than a third lower than the 2024 import volume of 27.4 million tonnes.
The prospect of a sharp reduction in EU imports is a major concern for UK steelmakers. The EU market is the destination for 78% of all UK steel exports, totalling 1.9 million tonnes of steel in 2024.
The potential for millions of tonnes, that will be barred from the EU market, to be redirected towards the UK is another existential threat, considering UK demand was just 9.2 million tonnes in 2024.
The UK Government must respond in two ways:
- Negotiate preferential treatment for the UK, including country-specific quotas
- Put in place its own tightened import quotas
The EU’s proposals are the latest in a long line of measures taken by governments around the world to defend their industries in the face of enormous volumes of heavily subsidised steel produced in Asia for export. The EU and UK must ensure that these measures, taken to help resolve the global overcapacity problems that plague the industry, do not unfairly impact UK steelmakers.
The UK Government must also urgently press ahead with its own measures to tighten UK import quotas. While the EU is reacting to imports taking around 25% of their market, in the UK, imports account for a staggering and unsustainable 70% of UK steel demand.
Gareth Stace, Director-General at UK Steel, said:
“This is perhaps the biggest crisis the UK steel industry has ever faced. Government must go all out to leverage our trading relationship with the European Union to secure UK country quotas or potentially face disaster.
“The UK Government must now recognise the urgent need to put in place its own measures to defend against a flood of imports. The probability of the EU’s measures redirecting millions of tonnes of steel towards the UK could be terminal for many of our remaining steel companies.”
Alasdair McDiarmid, Assistant General Secretary at Community, said:
"Given that around 80% of the UK's steel exports go to Europe, the new measures proposed by the EU represent an existential threat to our industry, as well as the thousands of jobs and communities it supports right across the country.
"This UK Government has consistently shown that it values and backs our steel industry, and we know that ministers will be acutely aware of the grave risks the EU's proposal poses. It is vital that the government moves swiftly to negotiate preferential treatment for the UK, including through country-specific quotas.
"This development also highlights the urgent need for tightened trade defence measures from the UK, especially as these new EU measures are likely to push a tide of diverted steel products towards our shores."
ENDS
Contact details
Peter Brennan, Director, Trade & Economic Policy, UK Steel
07557 492095 | pbrennan@makeuk.org
The EU market
- The EU was the destination of 78% of UK finished steel exports in 2024, equating to 1.9 million tonnes. (Data from ISSB). For context, the UK’s crude steel production in 2024 was just over 4 million tonnes, so it’s an enormously important market.
- 64% of UK finished steel imports in 2024 came from the EU, equating 3.6 million tonnes.
- The EU imported 27.4 million tonnes of steel in 2024, not all of which was subject to the import quotas.
Global steelmaking overcapacity
- China subsidises its steelmakers at ten times the OECD average (source: OECD Steel Outlook 2025 | OECD).
- Global overcapacity was over 600 million tonnes in 2024, representing 24% of total capacity, according to the OECD. OECD forecasts overcapacity to increase to 721 million tonnes by 2027, in part driven by China.
- China exported a record 118 million tonnes in 2024. In context, besides China, only one other country (India – 149.6 million tonnes) even produces that much. China produced 1 billion tonnes in 2024 out of the 1.882 billion global total in 2024 according to the World Steel Association (Source: December 2024 crude steel production and 2024 global crude steel production totals - worldsteel.org)