Steel Sector

Lord Sharpe of Epsom Excerpts

Thursday 23rd April 2026 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Lord Sharpe of Epsom]

To ask His Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to incentivise investment in and strengthen the long-term competitiveness of the steel sector.

[The Minister of State, Department for Business and Trade and HM Treasury (Lord Stockwood) (Lab)]

My Lords, steel is a vital component of the UK economy. That is why the Government have published their first ever steel strategy, underpinned by up to £2.5 billion of funding, to create stable, competitive conditions and to secure the long-term future of British steel-making. The strategy will attract investment to strengthen long-term competitiveness. It will also introduce a robust new trade measure to counter the damaging effects of global overcapacity, and reflect the importance of steel for critical national infrastructure and defence. It will also lower barriers to investment, through energy, grid and planning reforms, and mobilise demand for UK-made steel.

[Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Con)]

I thank the Minister for his Answer but, on that “robust” trade measure, can he say what proportion of UK steel imports of finished steel will be covered by the proposed reduced quotas and increased tariffs? Is it the intention to exclude Tata Steel and other finishing mills from import tariffs on their semi-finished feedstocks?

[Lord Stockwood (Lab)]

I am grateful to the noble Lord for the advanced sight of his follow-up question; I also commend the forensic, technical nature of the Question. The trade measure to which he refers covers 20 categories of steel, including all steel that is made in the UK. That includes bright bar, wire and stainless steel. Categories that were not covered in the steel safeguard are all now in scope. This means that the measure protects 100% of steel production domestically in the UK, whereas the steel safeguard protected only 96%. We engaged extensively with industry when developing this measure, and have sought to balance the need to protect the domestic steel-making industry while maintaining secure, reliable supply chains for downstream businesses. We will continue to engage closely with industry as we implement the measure, and we have committed to reviewing it in the next 12 months to ensure that it is entirely fit for purpose.