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Policy – UK
IMPORT TAXES AND CONTROLS ON METALS
THE UK Government is pursuing two major policy initiatives affecting the import of metals- namely steel & aluminium- that have serious consequences for BMF members. In this article, Joseph Salmon( BMF Policy & Public Affairs’ Advisor) outlines the main points that we have updated since the last edition of“ BMF One Voice”.
Steel Tariffs & Quotas On 1 July 2026, the Department of Business & Trade began limiting how much steel can be brought into the UK without tariffs & quotas. Since being elected two years ago, Labour government ministers have sought to protect our domestic steel-making industry from global over-supply( esp. dumping of cheap steel from China). These new UK-wide rules replace existing pre-Brexit rules that previously set import levels across all EU Member States.
The main points are:
• each grade of steel has an annual quota that can be imported tarifffree- and quotas are split into 4 quarters across the year;
• these tariff-free quotas are 51 % smaller than before- so less imported steel will be duty-free;
• once a quota is used up, any further imports of that steel face a 50 % tariff on the value of the goods;
• quotas are set by HM Revenue & Customs( HMRC) on a‘ first come, first served’ basis- so timing your orders matters;
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Lord Sarwar, UK Minister for Trade
• the rules cover 20 grades of steel including sheets, plates, bars, rebar, wire rod, tubes & pipes.
The full details are on GOV. uk here that set out the product categories, customs’ commodity codes and transitional arrangements: https:// www. gov. uk / government / publications / uks-steel-trademeasure-from-1-july-2026 / uks-steel-trade-measure-from-1- july-2026
If you agreed a contract to buy steel before 14 March 2026, you will not have to pay the 50 % tariff- but only for deliveries between 1 July and 30 September 2026. You will need evidence to prove eligibility to HMRC. Steel from Ukraine is not affected by these changes.
If your business is affected, we suggest you check your steel imports by commodity code, product category, origin, supplier and forecast volume for 2026 / 2027. You ought to check whether any goods fall within the 20 listed categories- confirm the relevant quota & order number- and speak to your customs agent or freight partner about how quota claims will be made in practice.
We are grateful to BMF members who have provided evidence on the impact of these new rules. For example: restricted supplies, extra costs, delivery delays and sales orders. We urge others to do the same so please send a bullet-point list into Brett Amphlett in the London Office with facts & figures on the impact you face that we can use in our lobbying.
The BMF takes up this issue via the Construction Leadership Council to lobby ministers on the disastrous consequences for our supply chain. The BMF and others are pressing to have these rules reviewed after 3 months- not the 12 months originally proposed by HM Government.
Unfortunately, the ministerial reshuffle following Andy Burnham MP becoming Prime Minister sees a change in Trade Minister. Sir Chris Bryant MP was moved and promoted out of the DBT. In comes Anas Sarwar, the former Glasgow MSP and Leader of Scottish Labour, who has been given a peerage and joins the House of Lords. This is unhelpful to BMF interests as it will take some time for Lord Sarwar to familiarise himself with the issues.
Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism We wrote about UK-CBAM in our summer edition- but the HRMC has since updated its policy paper and published further regulatory guidance on taxing carbon-intensive imported raw materials or finished goods on or after 1 January 2027.
UK-CBAM applies to certain goods imported into the United Kingdom- including Northern Ireland. Goods from the Crown Dependencies- namely the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man- and the British Overseas Territories- namely Gibraltar, the Falklands Islands and other islands in the Caribbean, South Atlantic & Pacific Oceans- will also be liable for UK- CBAM.
Steel being made at Port Talbot
To re-cap: ministers will introduce a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism on 1 January 2027. This UK-CBAM puts a carbon price on some of the most emissions-intensive imports to prevent‘ carbon leakage’. The policy applies to emissions embodied in specified goods, as determined by customs’ commodity codes, namely: aluminium; cement; hydrogen; and iron & steel. At this stage, ceramics & glass are excluded but are likely to be included in future. There is a £ 50,000 registration threshold to exclude as many SMEs as possible from this new tax.
These proposals are hugely significant to protect UK industry from being undercut by high-carbon goods. The primary target of this new tax is manufacturers & importers- and large merchants will have an interest in it with their Scope 1, 2 & 3 emissions’ reporting.