UK to challenge EU over ‘devastating’ plans to almost halve tariff-free steel import quotas

Key points

• The UK business secretary, Peter Kyle, is to raise concerns about EU plans to dramatically reduce tariff-free imports of British steel with its trade commissioner, Maroš Šefčovič, in Brussels on Friday.
• The UK steel industry has previously warned of “devastating” consequences from the new quota system being planned by the EU, which will cut overall tariff-free imports from non-EU countries by 47% on 2024 levels from 1 July.
• Kyle’s meeting comes as industry leaders on the EU side worry about retaliatory measures by the UK affecting their own sales to Britain.
• The UK was part of the EU’s previous steel safeguards regime but after Brexit must design its own quota and tariff regime, also for 1 July.
• European Steel Association Eurofer, the EU trade industry body, has already written to Šefčovič to protest that the “UK is setting new quotas for the EU at extreme low levels” with the EU...