Some steel exports from Great Britain to Northern Ireland face 25% tariff

Some steel exports from Great Britain to Northern Ireland are facing a 25% tariff because of changes to EU rules.

HM Revenue and Customs told steel producers of the tariff on Wednesday.

The tariff is related to the Northern Ireland Protocol, the post-Brexit deal which means NI is continuing to follow EU customs rules.

The EU has changed some of its rules in regard to steel imports for reasons related to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

That has had a knock-on effect on steel sales from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.

Essentially, steel from Great Britain had been able to enter Northern Ireland without a tariff because it was covered by a tariff rate quota (TRQ) for UK exports to the EU.

A TRQ allows a certain amount of a product to enter a customs territory without a tariff being paid, but once a set limit is reached tariffs apply.

Until June there was a specific TRQ for UK steel exports to the EU.

However, when sanctions were applied to Russia EU businesses could no longer buy steel from there.

So at that time the EU scrapped country-specific TRQs for the UK and others in favour of one TRQ for Ukraine and another TRQ covering all "other countries".

Mr Lowe said this was intended to give EU steel importers more flexibility in the absence of Russian supplies.

However it also means that the tariff free limit for GB supplies to Northern Ireland has been quickly reached, as Mr Lowe explained.

"Whereas before the UK had access to its own country-specific quota, which it could rely on to accommodate steel moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, now these movements would be covered by the 'other countries' quota which could fill up much more quickly, given the entire world has access to it," he said.

"Once it is full: 25% tariff on steel moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland."

The director of UK Steel, Gareth Stace, said: "It is beyond farcical that UK producers are now prevented by these tariffs from selling goods to customers in their own country.

"To add insult to injury EU steel producers can continue to export these goods tariff free throughout the UK, but we can no longer do so in the opposite direction.

"Consequently, much steel that would have been supplied from UK steel producers will now have to come from the EU. At a time of looming recession, this is surely madness."

He said it was essential that the government acts immediately to suspend the tariffs and gets round the table with the EU to implement a lasting and workable solution.