28/03/25
UK steel importers oppose other countries' caps
London, 28 March (Argus) — Steel importers in the UK suggest the imposition of a
cap on any other countries' quotas could effectively stop trade, given the small
volume of the quotas. In a recent submission to the Trade Remedies Authority, UK
Steel said 15pc caps should be introduced on other countries quotas for hot-dip
galvanised, plate and rebar. But in its submission to the TRA, trading firm
Salzgitter Mannesmann argues that any cap based on a percentage of the quota
"will ultimately most likely remove rather than reduce imports as shipments from
many third countries, notably the far east, require a certain base volume to
ship economically to the UK". Other trading firms and service centres told Argus
they share the same view. Salzgitter Mannesmann also suggested a new country
quotas for individual importers be added to the safeguard based on their imports
over the past two or three years. The only local producer of hot-dip galvanised
coil, Tata Steel, would be likely to argue against this as volumes from some
countries, notably Vietnam, have increased dramatically in recent years.
Salzgitter Mannesmann also suggests Tata Steel cannot produce hot-rolled coil
over 1.85m wide, for which the UK has to totally rely on imports. Traders have
for some time argued that there should be no import constraints on material,
such as 2m wide, as there can be no injury to the producer on grades it cannot
produce. Service centre Sebden Steel said the current measures make it
"impossible" for the UK to be flooded with cheap foreign imports, and that
people are "misinformed by mainstream media and UK Steel". "The UK producer is
in a safe place already and any additional measures will only serve to cause
injury to independent steel service centres, independent steel stockholders and
the UK manufacturing base, which will all be faced with a further tightening of
the supply chain and increased costs," it said. Importers, unsurprisingly,
question why Tata Steel, now a re-roller until its electric arc furnaces are
installed, can import on much more favourable terms than others. Tata has a much
bigger quota than the rest of the market, at around 2.3mn t, but the main
problem for importers is that the company has fewer constraints on where it can
source, with only a 40pc cap on any given country within that quota. Independent
service centres, which all compete with Tata Distribution, can only import much
smaller quantities from different locations, given the fragmented composition of
quotas; the other countries quota for 1A, for example, is less than 100,000
t/yr. EU mills have far and away the largest quota to sell 1A HRC into the UK,
but given their higher costs compared with Asian producers, they struggle to
compete; Tata's imports come from all over the world, as well as some from its
sister mill in IJmuiden, the Netherlands. By Colin Richardson Send comments and
request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus
Media group . All rights reserved.
