Trade remedies notice 2026/15: safeguard measure: tariff-rate quota on steel goods
Updated 31 March 2026
© Crown copyright 2026
This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gov.uk.
Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned.
This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/trade-remedies-notices-tariff-rate-quotas-on-steel-goods/trade-remedies-notice-202615-safeguard-measure-tariff-rate-quota-on-steel-goods
This notice was published on 31 March 2026, coming into effect the next day.
This public notice is published by the Secretary of State under subsection 13(4) and sub-paragraph 21(7) of schedule 5 to the Taxation (Cross-border Trade) Act 2018.
The application of the safeguard measure will continue to be suspended with respect to goods originating in Ukraine, as originally implemented by trade remedies notice 2024/06.
Summary of the safeguard measure tariff-rate quota reviews
TRQ review: TQ0077 category 4 (metallic coated sheet) and 7 (non-alloy and other alloy quarto plates) review
The Trade Remedies Authority (TRA) initiated tariff-rate quota (TRQ) review, TQ0077, on 14 January 2026 after an application had been lodged by a UK trade body and a UK importer, in accordance with regulation 35B of the Trade Remedies (Increase in Imports Causing Serious Injury to UK Importers) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (the regulations).
The TRA determined that the category 4 and 7 TRQs should be maintained. The Secretary of State decided not to request a reassessment. More information can be found on the TRA’s public file.
TRQ review: TQ0078 category 12A (alloy merchant bars and light sections) review
The TRA initiated the TRQ review, TQ0078, on 14 January 2026 after an application had been lodged by a UK trade body in accordance with regulation 35B of the regulations.
The TRA conducted the TRQ review as there was information indicating a change in circumstance, namely the impact of the TRQ on traditional trade flows, and that UK production of certain goods like those covered by category 12A has ceased.
The period of investigation (POI) for the review to assess the change in circumstances was 1 October 2024 to 30 September 2025. The representative period for assessing traditional trade flows was the period of 1 July 2017 to 30 June 2018. More information about the TRA’s investigation is available on the TRA’s public file.
TRQ review: TQ0085 category 4 (metallic coated sheet) developing country exception review
The TRA initiated the TRQ review, TQ0085, on 24 February 2026 after an application had been lodged by a UK steel producer in accordance with regulation 35B of the regulations.
The TRA conducted the TRQ review as there was information which indicated that import levels of the category 4 goods subject to review originating in Turkey (a World Trade Organization (WTO) developing country member) have changed since the application of the category 4 TRQ, such that Turkey can no longer be excluded from the application of the safeguard measure under regulation 43 of the regulations (developing country exception).
The POI for the review to assess the change in circumstances was 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025. The representative period for assessing traditional trade flows was the calendar years 2017 to 2019. More information about the TRA’s investigation is available on the TRA’s public file.
The TRA’s recommendation
In accordance with regulation 37(1) of the regulations, and as a result of the determinations made pursuant to regulation 35B of the regulations, the TRA made the following recommendations to the Secretary of State of Business and Trade.
TRQ review: TQ0078 (category 12A review)
The TRA recommended that the TRQ should be varied to remove 3 of the 8 commodity codes currently in scope of the category 12A TRQ. The TRA determined that there has been a change in circumstances since application of the current TRQ. The TRA assessed whether there continues to be UK production of like or directly competitive goods, similar to those captured by the TRQ.
The TRA’s review found no evidence of domestic production within the period of investigation for some of the goods subject to review. The TRA therefore recommended a variation to the current category 12A TRQ, specifically to remove 3 of the 8 commodity codes currently in scope of the category 12A TRQ.
Those commodity codes removed from the scope of the TRQ are shown in the goods description section. The goods description of category 12A steel goods supersedes the category 12A goods description in trade remedies notice 2024/06.
TRQ review: TQ0085 (category 4 developing country exception review)
The TRA determined that metallic coated sheet imported into the UK originating from Turkey has exceeded the 3% import share threshold for developing countries to be excepted from the steel safeguard measure.
The TRA has therefore recommended that the TRQ should be varied so that imports of the category 4 goods subject to review originating in Turkey are no longer excepted from the application of the safeguard measure, and Turkish imports of these goods should now have access to a country-specific quota, due to their historic trading volumes.
The resulting TRQ allocations for category 4 are shown in the quota amount and allocation for year 8 section. The allocations below supersede the category 4 year 8 quota allocations in trade remedies notice 2025/12.
Secretary of State’s decision on the TRQ reviews
This public notice gives effect to the Secretary of State’s decision to accept the TRA’s recommendations to vary the safeguard measure following the 2 TRQ review recommendations.
The Secretary of State has accepted the TRA’s recommendations to vary the:
- category 4 quota allocations
- scope of the goods subject to the category 12A TRQs
The Secretary of State accepted the recommendations while having regard to the public interest. This notice is made under section 13(4) of the Taxation (Cross-border Trade) Act 2018.
The varied measure shall take effect the day after the date of publication of any public notice, in accordance with section 13 of the Taxation (Cross-border Trade) Act 2018, which gives effect to this recommendation and to the TRQ periods set out in the goods description section.
Goods description
Category number 4: metallic coated sheet
The goods subject to TRQ review TQ0085 are category 4 steel goods (metallic coated sheet). The goods that are subject to the measure are defined by the following commodity codes:
- 72102000
- 72104100
- 72104900
- 72106100
- 7210690020
- 7210690080
- 72109080
- 72122000
- 72123000
- 72125020
- 72125030
- 72125040
- 72125061
- 72125069
- 72125090
- 72259100
- 72259200
- 72259900
- 72269910
- 72269930
- 72269970
Category number 12A: alloy merchant bars and light sections
The goods subject to TRQ review TQ0078 are category 12A steel goods (alloy merchant bars and light sections). From 1 April 2026, the goods that will remain subject to the category 12A safeguard are defined by the following commodity codes:
- 7228 3061 00
- 7228 3069 00
- 7228 3070 00
- 7228 3089 00
- 7228 7010 00
The goods no longer subject to the safeguard measure from 1 April 2026 are defined by the following commodity codes:
- 7228 3020 00
- 7228 3041 00
- 7228 6020 00
Duty amount
The additional amount of duty (‘safeguard duty’) applicable to steel goods imported outside of the quota is 25% according to value.
The safeguard duty is applicable to the net free-at-the-frontier price of the good (before any other amount of import duty).
The application of the safeguard measure will continue to be suspended with respect to goods originating in Ukraine, as originally implemented by trade remedies notice 2024/06.
Duration
The updated TRQ applies from 1 April 2026 to 30 June 2026.
Right to access quota
The right to access the quota is granted by His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to importers in the United Kingdom on a first-come, first-served basis.
The category 4 and 12A quota is operated as outlined in trade remedies notice 2025/12. The quota allocations made for category 4 in this notice supersede the allocations for category 4 in year 8 in trade remedies notice 2025/12.
The scope of the goods subject to the category 12A TRQs in this notice supersede the scope of the goods subject to the category 12A TRQs in trade remedies notice 2024/06.
Importers are asked to cite the relevant order number set out in the annex or as otherwise specified on the online tariff tool when applying to HMRC to access a particular quota.
Quota amount and allocation for year 8
The remaining year 8 quarter is from 1 April 2026 to 30 June 2026.
Table 1: year 8 quota amount and allocation by country and territory from 1 April 2026 to 30 June 2026
| Goods category | Country or territory | Quarter 4 (in tonnes) |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | EU | 320,630 |
| 4 | Taiwan | 33,149 |
| 4 | India | 24,482 |
| 4 | Turkey | 24,413 |
| 4 | Residual | 84,665 |
| 4 | Residual 15% cap for any individual exporting country | 12,700 |
| 4 | Total | 487,339 |
| 12A | EU | 29,197 |
| 12A | Residual | 4,200 |
| 12A | Total | 33,397 |
Goods excluded
Exclusion for steel goods originating in signatory countries or territories
All steel goods originating in a signatory country or territory specified are excluded from:
- quota amount allocated for all other countries or territories
- application of the safeguard duty
Signatory countries or territories:
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Barbados
- Botswana
- Belize
- Bahamas
- Dominica
- Dominican Republic
- Eswatini
- Grenada
- Guyana
- Jamaica
- Lesotho
- Mozambique
- Namibia
- South Africa
- St Kitts and Nevis
- St Lucia
- St Vincent and the Grenadines
- Suriname
- Trinidad and Tobago
Limited exclusion for steel goods originating in developing countries or territories
Except for steel goods in a goods category originating in a developing country or territory annotated with that goods category, any steel goods originating in a developing country or territory specified below are excluded from the:
- quota amount allocated for all other countries or territories
- application of the safeguard duty
Developing countries or territories:
- Afghanistan
- Albania
- Angola
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Argentina
- Armenia
- Bahrain
- Bangladesh
- Barbados
- Belize
- Benin
- Bolivia
- Botswana
- Brazil
- Brunei
- Burkina Faso
- Burundi
- Cambodia
- Cameroon
- Cape Verde
- Central African Republic
- Chad
- Chile
- China (categories: 6^^, 25[a]++, 25[b]++, 26^^)
- Colombia
- Congo
- Costa Rica
- Cuba
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Djibouti
- Dominica
- Dominican Republic
- Ecuador
- Egypt (categories: 13++)
- El Salvador
- Eswatini
- Fiji
- Gabon
- Gambia
- Georgia
- Ghana
- Grenada
- Guatemala
- Guinea
- Guinea-Bissau
- Guyana
- Haiti
- Honduras
- Hong Kong
- India (category: 1[a]++, 1[b]++, 4^^, 20^^, 26++)
- Indonesia
- Ivory Coast
- Jamaica
- Jordan
- Kazakhstan
- Kenya
- Kuwait
- Kyrgyzstan
- Laos
- Lesotho
- Liberia
- Macao
- Madagascar
- Malawi
- Malaysia
- Maldives
- Mali
- Mauritania
- Mauritius
- Mexico
- Moldova
- Mongolia
- Montenegro
- Morocco
- Mozambique
- Myanmar (Burma)
- Namibia
- Nepal
- Nicaragua
- Niger
- Nigeria
- North Macedonia
- Oman
- Pakistan
- Panama
- Papua New Guinea
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Philippines
- Qatar
- Rwanda
- St Kitts and Nevis
- St Lucia
- St Vincent and the Grenadines
- Samoa
- Saudi Arabia
- Senegal
- Seychelles
- Sierra Leone
- Solomon Islands
- South Africa
- Sri Lanka
- Suriname
- Tajikistan
- Tanzania
- Thailand
- Togo
- Tonga
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Tunisia
- Turkey (categories: 1[a]^^, 1[b]++, 4^^, 12[b]^^ 13^^, 16++, 17++, 20^^, 2 1^^, 26^^)
- Uganda
- Ukraine
- United Arab Emirates (categories: 21++, 26^^)
- Uruguay
- Vanuatu
- Venezuela
- Vietnam (categories: 1[a]++, 1[b]++, 4++, 13++)
- Yemen
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
Key:
- ^^ denotes a quota amount for the goods category is allocated for the country or territory
- ++ denotes the quota amount for the goods category allocated to all other countries or territories is available for the country or territory
Annex table 2: order numbers for importers to access the tariff-rate quota on steel goods
| Goods category | Origin country or territory | Order number |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | EU | 058006 |
| 4 | Taiwan | 058088 |
| 4 | India | 058106 |
| 4 | Turkey | 058107 |
| 4 | Residual | see online tariff tool |
| 12A | EU | 058100 |
| 12A | Residual | 058102 |