Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the profitability of UK downstream steel manufacturers before the implementation of steel tariffs of 50% on July 1st 2026.

The measure is designed to only cover steel requirements that can be met in the UK. In some instances, this is not feasible for technical reasons. Where this is the case, quotas have been designed to allow for sufficient imports to ensure continued availability of these goods to UK downstream users without unnecessary additional costs.

UK steel companies do not maintain a fixed list of steel grades and cannot be produced domestically, as capability evolves in response to market demand and investment. UK producers manufacture a wide range of steel products. However, current production levels were taken into account when setting quota sizes, and further information can be found on GOV.UK.

We will closely monitor implementation of the measure and review it after 12 months to ensure it remains effective and the balance is right for both producers and downstream users.