United Kingdom

Certain steel products

Supplement

The following communication, dated and received on 14 May 2025, is being circulated at the request of the delegation of the United Kingdom.

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Pursuant to Articles 12.1(c) and 9.1 footnote 2 of the WTO Agreement on Safeguards, the United Kingdom notifies proposed changes to the exemption status of developing country Members from the safeguard measure on certain steel products, in addition to proposed changes to the quota to which certain steel products are subject should be varied, as part of a tariff rate quota (TRQ) review by the Trade Remedies Authority ("TRA" – the United Kingdom's competent authority).

The review was initiated on 28 February 2025 as set out in document _G/SG/N/10/GBR/1/Suppl.23.

On 26 March 2025, the TRA amended its notice of initiation to expand the scope of the review to account for a change of circumstances, as set out in document _G/SG/N/10/GBR/1/Suppl.24.

On 13 May 2025, the TRA published its initial conclusions in its Statement of Intended Final Determination (SIFD) on the Trade Remedies Service platform here:[1] https://www.trade-remedies.service.gov.uk/public/case/TQ0066/submission/54c62e25-982b-478c-bbe1-9f6380eeeea4/.

This notification includes an invitation to hold consultations in accordance with Article 12.3 of the Agreement on Safeguards.

Further details on the review and a copy of the notice of initiation and amended notice of initiation can be found on the Trade Remedies Service public file for the TRQ review:
https://www.trade-remedies.service.gov.uk/public/case/TQ0066/#public-file

1.      Provide the precise description of the product(s) involved.

The product is certain steel products. Table 1 of the Annex contains a full description of the product categories and UK Global Tariff commodity codes.

2.      If there is a change in the list of developing countries exempted from the safeguard measure pursuant to Article 9.1, please notify:

a._         the reference to the WTO document that notified the Members about the initial action under footnote 2 to Article 9.1;

The most recent relevant document is _G/SG/N/10/GBR/1/Suppl.24.

b._        if applicable, names of the countries which are dropped from the list of developing countries to which the safeguard measure does not apply pursuant to Article 9.1, the list of the countries remaining on the list, the individual and collective import shares of the developing countries remaining on the list, and the date on which the safeguard measure applies to the countries dropped from the list;

See below and Annex.

c._         if applicable, names of the countries which are added to the list of developing countries to which the safeguard measure does not apply pursuant to Article 9.1, the list of all the countries on the list, the individual and collective import shares of the developing countries on the list, and the date from which the safeguard measure does not apply to the countries which are added to the list.

The TRA has considered whether the TRQ to which certain steel products are subject should be varied in view of a change in circumstances, namely that the TRQ, or any part of the quota, has been exhausted, and there has been a change in demand for the relevant goods.

The TRA assessed that six developing countries (Viet Nam, China, India, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Türkiye) should no longer be exempted from the measure because their import share exceeded the 3% threshold during the period of investigation (POI) of 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2024, relative to the representative period for assessing traditional trade flows of 2017‑2019.

The TRA has also used His Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) data to assess that the residual quotas of steel categories 5, 16, 17 and 21 were exhausted in at least one quarter of the POI. Several other categories of steel also experienced a high rate of utilisation during the POI.

The TRA has additionally assessed that there has been a significant change in demand for the steel globally and in the UK that constitutes a change of circumstances sufficient to assess whether the TRQ may be varied in a way that responds to pressures faced by the UK steel industry.

The TRA's intended final recommendation is to vary the tariff rate quota as follows:

·_              Unused quotas should no longer be made available in the following quarter (removal of carry-over facility);

·_              Countries with a country-specific quota should no longer have access to the residual quota in the final quarter;

·_              From 1 October 2025, caps should be imposed on the residual quotas in the following categories:

1._        Category 4: 40%

2._        Category 7: 40%

3._        Category 13: 40%

and

·_              Update the developing country non-exemptions list as set out in Table 3.

For further details on the TRA's intended final recommendation, please use the TRA's public file (https://www.trade-remedies.service.gov.uk/public/case/TQ0066/submission/54c62e25-982b-478c-bbe1-9f6380eeeea4/).

Table 2 lists all developing countries exempt from the safeguard measure as Economic Partnership Agreement partners and not included in this review.

Table 3 of the Annex lists all non-exempt developing countries by product categories, based on 2024 import shares. Developing countries not in this table who are not already exempted through an FTA, will benefit from the developing country exemptions.

Table 4 lists those developing countries whose status has changed following this review. Quotas not listed remain as they currently are.

Table 5 sets out proposed amendments to the country specific and tariff-rate quotas.

3.      Procedures relevant to the review, including invitation to WTO Members to hold consultations.

Interested parties can submit comments on the SIFD by 23:59 UK time on 26 May 2025 via the Trade Remedies Service

(https://www.trade-remedies.service.gov.uk/accounts/login/?next=/dashboard/) or by email to TQ0066@traderemedies.gov.uk. Submissions must be accompanied by a non-confidential version or summary for the public file.

Members affected by the proposed changes, who wish to consult with the United Kingdom, may make a request through the UK Mission in Geneva and agree a mutually convenient date and time to hold consultations. These consultations shall be held via MS Teams and will be conducted in accordance with Article 12.3 of the Agreement on Safeguards.