Rising protectionism in the UK and European markets risks steel substitution and higher costs for end users, participants said during last week’s meeting in Leeds held jointly by the National Steel Association (NSA) and International Steel Trade Association (ISTA), attended by Kallanish.
“Our businesses are under attack,” said one speaker, citing the Trade Remedies Authority (TRA) changes brought in at short notice earlier this year.
These have “unfairly cost companies millions of pounds in unbudgeted duties and are continuing to distort trade patterns in the affected product groups.”
“Investment will not take place against the background of instability and uncertainty created by ministerial unpredictability,” they added.
While they noted the need for domestic steel production to be maintained, this should not be detrimental to the independent steel processing, distribution, manufacturing and construction industries.
They added that docks and hauliers cannot exist solely on exports.
The source highlighted the ongoing pushback from some sectors in response to proposals by the EU to reduce import quotas to 2013 levels.
“The downstream manufacturers would be left wide open to imports of finished products at the same time as facing higher prices from domestic producers who would be protected,” they said.
They rejected suggestions that the UK and EU markets are the same, noting that producers in the EU are protected by quotas while consumers still have a wide choice of producers, while there is one UK producer for each main product. This risks creating a monopoly situation.
Elsewhere, a port representative also warned of the “massive change globally” which they said was going to impact every person in the sector.
The changes will make trade “difficult to do” as no one can risk paying a 50% tariff.
If the UK was to replicate the EU safeguards, it would see domestic mill price rises, resulting in higher costs for manufacturing industries and carmakers, they noted.
“We live in a global industry and substitution is relatively easy,” they noted, with steel able to be replaced by timber and concrete in some cases.
They suggested that whichever material is cheapest and has the least amount of trade protection will be chosen.
“We’re killing our industry and manufacturing,” they said. “The more trade protection we have, the fewer options we give our customers; and the more expensive they become, the more difficult it is for them to compete, and it’s a global industry.”
They suggested the tightening of safeguard measures will encourage imports of finished goods from overseas.
Elsewhere, they noted that short-sea ports have struggled during 2025 as the market has struggled, particularly on flat products more than long products.
Carrie Bone UK
