Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of revised steel safeguard measures due to take effect on 1 July 2026 on defence procurement programmes, including the AUKUS submarine programme; and whether he has raised concerns with the Secretary of State for Defence regarding the availability and cost of specialist steel products required for defence manufacturing.

The new steel trade measure has been designed to strike a careful balance between supporting domestic steelmaking and maintaining secure, reliable supply so the UK can meet its defence and critical national infrastructure needs. I have engaged closely with my counterparts in other departments, including in the Ministry of Defence, in designing the measure.