UK trade secretary confirms five-product safeguard extension

UK International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan has confirmed the government will extend steel safeguard quotas for a further two years to end-June 2024 on five categories of steel products.

This follows the publishing last week of the Trade Remedies Authority (TRA)’s findings on steel safeguards (see Kallanish passim).

“Today’s decision on safeguards provides our steelmakers with the stability required to plan, invest and work with the Government on the major challenges we now face – not least the decarbonisation of the industry,” UK Steel director general Gareth Stace said on Wednesday.

In June 2021 the TRA recommended to extend safeguard measures on ten products for a further three years, with nine slated to be revoked. The government then used emergency legislation to extend measures for one year on five of the categories that were proposed to be revoked. These were categories 6, 7, 12, 16 and 17 – tin mill products; quarto plate; merchant bar and light sections; wire rod; and angles, shapes and sections.

In a separate review of developing countries’ safeguard exemptions, TRA has recommended that five countries will no longer have exceptions from the measure but will be subject to it and have access to the residual quota. These countries are: India (category 1, 5, 13, and 17), Tunisia (category 2), Vietnam (category 5), Turkey (category 16), and Ukraine (category 16).

Adam Smith Poland