Latest news with #UKSteel
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
British steelmakers boosted by change to EU tariffs
British steelmakers will be able to sell more to the EU tariff-free from Friday in a boost for the beleaguered sector. The EU has agreed to more than double the UK's tariff-free quota for certain steel products in a move the Government described as a 'direct win' from Sir Keir Starmer's deal with the bloc earlier this year. At May's UK-EU summit, Sir Keir and European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen agreed to restore Britain's steel quotas to historic levels after they were slashed in March. Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said the announcement was 'yet another positive step forward for the UK steel sector' that would give producers 'certainty'. The agreement comes at a difficult time for the industry, which continues to face 25% tariffs on exports to the US. An agreement with President Donald Trump to effectively reduce those tariffs to zero is yet to come into effect, but Britain has been protected from the 50% tariff Mr Trump imposed on steel from the rest of the world last month. UK Steel director general Gareth Stace said Friday's change was 'excellent news' for the sector that had been 'plagued by problems' in exporting steel to the EU. He added: 'The quota will restore historic trade flows and is good news for both UK steelmakers and their EU customers.' The decision means the UK can export 27,000 tonnes of 'category 17' steel – which includes angles and sections of steel – to the EU each quarter without paying tariffs. The figure had been cut to 10,000 tonnes after the EU introduced a cap intended to prevent a single exporter dominating the market. In total, the UK exports around 2.4 million tonnes of steel to the EU, worth nearly £3 billion and accounting for 75% of British steel exports. Ministers expect the change to help protect jobs in the industry, which has been a priority for the Labour Government since coming to power. In April, the Government used an almost unprecedented weekend recall of Parliament to take control of British Steel to prevent the shutdown of its blast furnaces and maintain the UK's primary steel-making capacity. British Steel's interim chief operating officer Lisa Coulson said: 'The removal of EU tariffs on British-made steel is a significant boost to our business. 'The EU is an important market to us, particularly for the products our highly skilled colleagues manufacture in Scunthorpe, Teesside, and Skinningrove.' But Conservative shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith described the quota as 'tiny' and 'embarrassing from a Government which has nothing to show on removing the US tariffs on steel which the PM claimed to have delivered back in May'. He added: 'It's a paltry return for giving up 12 years of fishing rights and tying the energy costs of every business to a higher cost EU emissions regime over which the UK will have no say. 'When Labour nationalised British Steel we said they had no plan. This government by press release shows we were right.'
The Independent
10 hours ago
- Business
- The Independent
British steelmakers boosted by change to EU tariffs
British steelmakers will be able to sell more to the EU tariff-free from Friday in a boost for the beleaguered sector. The EU has agreed to more than double the UK's tariff-free quota for certain steel products in a move the Government described as a 'direct win' from Sir Keir Starmer's deal with the bloc earlier this year. At May's UK-EU summit, Sir Keir and European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen agreed to restore Britain's steel quotas to historic levels after they were slashed in March. Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said the announcement was 'yet another positive step forward for the UK steel sector' that would give producers 'certainty'. The agreement comes at a difficult time for the industry, which continues to face 25% tariffs on exports to the US. An agreement with President Donald Trump to effectively reduce those tariffs to zero is yet to come into effect, but Britain has been protected from the 50% tariff Mr Trump imposed on steel from the rest of the world last month. UK Steel director general Gareth Stace said Friday's change was 'excellent news' for the sector that had been 'plagued by problems' in exporting steel to the EU. He added: 'The quota will restore historic trade flows and is good news for both UK steelmakers and their EU customers.' The decision means the UK can export 27,000 tonnes of 'category 17' steel – which includes angles and sections of steel – to the EU each quarter without paying tariffs. The figure had been cut to 10,000 tonnes after the EU introduced a cap intended to prevent a single exporter dominating the market. In total, the UK exports around 2.4 million tonnes of steel to the EU, worth nearly £3 billion and accounting for 75% of British steel exports. Ministers expect the change to help protect jobs in the industry, which has been a priority for the Labour Government since coming to power. In April, the Government used an almost unprecedented weekend recall of Parliament to take control of British Steel to prevent the shutdown of its blast furnaces and maintain the UK's primary steel-making capacity. British Steel's interim chief operating officer Lisa Coulson said: 'The removal of EU tariffs on British-made steel is a significant boost to our business. 'The EU is an important market to us, particularly for the products our highly skilled colleagues manufacture in Scunthorpe, Teesside, and Skinningrove.' But Conservative shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith described the quota as 'tiny' and 'embarrassing from a Government which has nothing to show on removing the US tariffs on steel which the PM claimed to have delivered back in May'. He added: 'It's a paltry return for giving up 12 years of fishing rights and tying the energy costs of every business to a higher cost EU emissions regime over which the UK will have no say. 'When Labour nationalised British Steel we said they had no plan. This government by press release shows we were right.'
Reuters
10 hours ago
- Business
- Reuters
Britain says EU is removing tariffs on steel under quota
LONDON, Aug 1 (Reuters) - Britain said the European Union will remove tariffs on key steel products under a quota system from Friday as part of a reset of ties and a recent deal to ease trade barriers. In May, Britain agreed the most significant reset of defence and trade ties with the European Union since Brexit, which included a "bespoke arrangement" to protect UK steel exports from new EU rules and tariffs. Britain had said the European Commission would restore its country-specific steel quota to pre-2022 levels, but had not previously specified when this would take effect. Trade minister Jonathan Reynolds said the removal of tariffs was "yet another positive step forward for the UK steel sector" after the government intervened to save jobs at British Steel and struck a deal to avoid the highest U.S. steel tariffs. "Restoring our steel quota helps give producers the certainty they need to compete, grow, and maintain vital export relationships," he said. Britain said it could export up to 27,000 tonnes of steel to the EU each quarter without paying an extra tariff under the arrangement. Gareth Stace, director general of UK Steel, said the restoration of the quota was "excellent news", adding companies had been "plagued by problems" shipping items like support beams. Britain is yet to conclude negotiations with the United States after both sides agreed in May to work to eliminate steel tariffs on exports from Britain. British steel exports to the U.S. face tariffs of 25%, and avoided an increase to 50% thanks to its U.S. agreement, but talks to remove the tariffs have stalled due to discussions over supply chains and where British steel is "melted and poured".
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Starmer under fire over American tariffs on UK steel as industry still faces a 25% levy
Britain's struggling steel industry last night called for American tariffs to be axed 'once and for all' – nearly three months after a deal to do so was struck. Steel exported from the UK to the US still faces a tariff of 25 per cent despite an agreement in early May to cut it to zero alongside the levy on cars and aerospace. Most other British goods entering the US face a 10 per cent levy – which thanks to Brexit is lower than the 15 per cent Donald Trump agreed with the EU. Sir Keir Starmer is understood to have pressed the President to finally reduce tariffs on British steel to zero as agreed during talks in Scotland yesterday. That would give the UK a welcome competitive advantage given steel imported by America from much of the rest of the world faces a 50 per cent tariff. But the White House remains concerned about how the deal would work. Industry bosses warned the delay is costing jobs. 'There has been nearly three months of uncertainty for business, of whether we should export our steel or delay a little bit,' said UK Steel director general Gareth Stace. 'The President and Prime Minister must settle the zero-tariff deal once and for all. 'UK steelmakers are losing contracts with their most critical clients in the US, and every passing day without a deal puts more jobs at risk.'
South Wales Argus
10-07-2025
- Business
- South Wales Argus
Plans to split UK market into energy pricing zones dropped
The Energy Secretary had been considering proposals for zonal pricing that would see different areas of the country pay different rates for their electricity, based on local supply and demand. But the Government has now decided to retain a single national wholesale price. Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said: 'Building clean power at pace and scale is the only way to get Britain off the rollercoaster of fossil fuel markets and protect families and businesses for good. 'As we embark on this new era of clean electricity, a reformed system of national pricing is the best way to deliver an electricity system that is fairer, more affordable, and more secure, at less risk to vital investment in clean energy than other alternatives.' Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said a reformed system of national pricing is the best way forward (Jonathan Brady/PA) Energy business SSE said the move provided 'much-needed policy clarity' for investors and consumers. Martin Pibworth, chief executive designate of SSE, said: 'This decision brings welcome clarity and enables us to get on with investing in and delivering critical clean energy infrastructure, in doing so transforming our energy system and supporting the UK Government's bold ambitions for clean power by 2030. 'Zonal pricing would have added risk at a time when the UK needed to accelerate its clean power transition, making energy bills more expensive. This decision reaffirms the UK as a world-leading renewables market, enabling the efficient delivery of the homegrown energy the country needs.' Gareth Stace, director-general at UK Steel, said the industry was pleased the Government had heeded warnings and ruled out the 'risky' proposal. 'Zonal pricing would have penalised existing industrial sites, driving up electricity prices, further damaging our ability to thrive, foster jobs, and undermining much needed investment in steelmaking. 'Electricity prices for the UK steel sector are among the highest in Europe. UK Steel warned that zonal pricing would have created a 'postcode lottery' for industrial power prices, conflicting with the Government's own ambition to reduce power costs for British industry. 'As the industry transitions fully to electric arc furnace technology, price competitiveness will become even more central to the sector's future. 'While today's decision provides clarity on the direction of electricity market reforms, the Government must ensure that the alternative to zonal pricing, reformed national pricing, supports rather than hinders industrial competitiveness.' Centrica chief executive Chris O'Shea said it was a 'common sense decision' and that the 'theoretical benefits never stacked up against the real-world risks' in potential zonal pricing. Ed Miliband's promise to cut bills by £300 was always a fantasy. This is what happens when you set yourself impossible climate targets and ignore the costs. In 2030 you'll be paying around £100 in your energy bill to pay wind farms literally to switch off when it's too windy. — Claire Coutinho (@ClaireCoutinho) July 10, 2025 Claire Coutinho, shadow secretary of state for energy security and net zero, said: 'Ed Miliband promised to cut energy bills by £300, but instead as I warned, bills are going up and it's increasingly obvious that this promise was a fantasy. 'The truth is that wind developers have Ed over a barrel because he set himself impossible wind targets, that means we'll be paying them billions of pounds extra, roughly £100 on bills by 2030, not to produce energy, but simply to turn off. 'Even Downing Street are waking up to the fact that Ed's net zero zeal is going to impose huge costs on bills and jobs as we lose businesses to more polluting countries with cheaper energy. That's bad for households, our economy and emissions.'
