EASTKING SHORTS

UK wants to extend steel import safeguards and tariff-rate quotas for 3 years from July 1 on certain product categories like HR sheets & strips, CR sheets, and Rebars

Products like metallic coated sheets, tin mill products, and stainless bars, are to be freed from quotas

The preliminary decision (still subject to public consultation and government approval)

intends to recommend that safeguard measures are revoked on 135 product codes and extended on 102 product codes

The announcement was criticized by steelmakers' group UK Steel as being too liberal and also surprised analysts

Goods still to be included under the safeguards are subject to tariff-rate quotas and an out-of-quota safeguarding duty of 25%

The liberalization rate for the measures is set at 3% for each year that the measure is in place,

meaning that the quota amounts will increase by 3% annually, allowing an increased volume of imports to access the UK market

This will ensure that the pace of liberalization is maintained

After leaving the EU, the UK transitioned the existing EU tariff rate quotas, introduced in 2018 under its safeguard scheme, to the UK