Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps she is taking to secure an exemption for UK steel exports from the EU steel safeguards.

The Department for International Trade has already engaged closely with the European Commission to secure tariff-free quota allocations for some British steel exports into the European Union from 1^st January 2021.

The United Kingdom has put in place some country-specific allocations within its overall tariff rate quotas for steel products subject to the steel safeguards, enabling EU companies to trade tariff-free into the United Kingdom. These tariff-free allocations came into operation on 1^st January 2021 too.

Mutual provision of tariff-free quota allocations for steel exports for the United Kingdom’s and the European Commission’s respective Steel Safeguard measures will preserve traditional trade flows and provide as much continuity to industry as possible.