A senior industry figure has called on the Government to take robust retaliatory action against the European Union’s new trade restrictions on British steel, warning that they could devastate the UK’s manufacturing base.
Simon Boyd, managing director of Dorset-based structural steel company REIDsteel, urged ministers to impose reciprocal tariffs to protect UK producers, manufacturers and supply chains after Brussels announced plans to slash tariff-free quotas for British steel exports.
The EU’s new measures will halve the UK’s tariff-free quota for structural steel exports and impose a 50% tariff on all shipments exceeding that limit, as part of a wider package designed to curb imports of Chinese steel.
“The total EU market for structural steel is eight million tonnes per annum, of which the UK is currently granted a tariff-free quota of 108,000 tonnes — less than 2% of the market,” Boyd said.
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