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UK's steel trade measure from 1 July 2026

Details about a new steel trade measure from 1 July 2026, which limits tariff-free steel import quota volumes.

From:
Department for Business and Trade
Published
2 April 2026
Last updated
2 July 2026 — See all updates

Documents

UK's steel trade measure from 1 July 2026

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Implementation notifications on the UK steel trade measure

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Details

On 19 March 2026, the government announced a new steel trade measure, taking effect from 1 July 2026. This measure has been implemented using powers in the Taxation (Cross Border Trade) Act 2018, as amended.

The government has carried out a programme of intensive industry engagement since the announcement. We have also engaged closely with the European Union (EU) ahead of their new steel trade measure coming into effect and agreed an approach that reflects the UK and EU’s highly interconnected supply chains.

From 1 July 2026, the government is limiting tariff-free steel imports, reducing overall quota volumes by 51% compared with the steel safeguard measure. Any imports above these levels will face a 50% tariff. The measure applies to imports of steel products that can also be made in the UK.

The steel safeguard quotas and the 25% additional safeguard duty ceased to apply from 30 June 2026.

Updates to this page

Published 2 April 2026
Last updated 2 July 2026 Show all updates

  1. Implementation notifications attachment updated, providing new information on transitional exemption eligibility and claims, how quotas are administered, use of inward processing and freeports, scope of the Ukraine exemption, trade remedy measures on steel imports, application of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) on steel products and application of ship-work authorised use on steel products.

  2. Grammatical updates made to reflect the commencement of the new steel trade measure.

  3. Commodity codes added to Categories 12A, 12B and 28, and removed from Categories 14, 26 and 28. Quotas updated in Table 3 for Categories 1, 4, 5, 6, 12A, 12B, 14, 15, 17, 19, 20, 26, 27 and 28 in 'UK's steel trade measure from 1 July 2026' HTML attachment.

  4. A new HTML attachment was added to the page, providing information on 'Implementation notifications on the transitional exemption, quota administration and the Ukraine exclusion'.

  5. First published.

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