UK government confirms tighter steel import safeguards from 1 July to protect domestic industry

June 30, 2025
unions seek £200m from ministers to safeguard scunthorpe steelworks as blast furnaces face closure Unions are calling on the UK government to inject £200 million into British Steel, in a last-ditch attempt to keep its two blast furnaces in Scunthorpe running until electric arc replacements can be brought online. The trade union Community warns that without additional support, the rapid shutdown of Scunthorpe’s coal-fuelled blast furnaces could spark nearly 2,000 immediate job losses. the push for a ‘just transition’ British Steel, owned by Chinese group Jingye, is already committed to installing cleaner electric arc furnaces (EAFs) in Scunthorpe. However, union leaders fear that the abrupt closure of blast furnaces, without an interim plan, will devastate Lincolnshire’s local economy and eliminate key steelmaking capabilities prematurely. Roy Rickhuss, Community’s general secretary, described the plan as a “roadmap towards a just transition” and a way to avoid a “destructive cliff-edge” in job cuts. He believes government intervention to cover an extra £200 million in carbon costs, which are levied on large polluters, could keep both blast furnaces running and maintain income streams until EAFs are operational. Syndex, the consultancy commissioned by Community, backs the union’s case. It argues that government support to fund the short-term costs of carbon is the only way to make operating both furnaces “financially viable.” Maintaining just one furnace or closing them both would prove too costly, Syndex warns, especially considering the high fixed costs and potential loss of critical raw material access. uncertainty around government support The request follows a separate move by the government to provide around £500 million to India’s Tata Steel for upgrading the Port Talbot plant in Wales, a deal that included the closure of its blast furnaces there, costing 2,500 jobs. Ministers have pledged up to £2.5 billion in further support to help decarbonise the UK steel industry, but details remain vague, and it is unclear how much might go to British Steel. Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds has signalled a desire to “champion decarbonisation without deindustrialisation,” launching a consultation on the UK’s steel strategy. Yet a cocktail of global forces—such as a steel glut fuelled by China’s construction downturn and the 25% US tariffs on steel imports—threatens to depress prices further, complicating British Steel’s switch to greener operations. electric arc furnaces: a mixed blessing While EAFs produce significantly less carbon dioxide compared to traditional blast furnaces, they require extra facilities to convert iron ore for steelmaking. Such infrastructure is not yet established in the UK at the necessary scale, fuelling fears—particularly among some politicians and defence officials—that the country could lose a core manufacturing skillset if Scunthorpe’s blast furnaces are mothballed. Despite these concerns, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) says moving quickly to modern, cleaner technology is “vital” if UK steel is to remain globally competitive. “It’s essential we continue to produce steel in Britain, and decarbonising is the only way we can do that in the long term,” insists TUC general secretary Paul Nowak. the road ahead For now, British Steel acknowledges that government talks are ongoing, emphasising that its “trade union partners will be an important part of that future.” The question remains whether ministers will agree to pump in a further £200 million, with Community and Syndex arguing it is the only strategy that will save Scunthorpe from large-scale redundancies and maintain a fully functioning domestic steel industry until greener technology is ready to take over. SERP-friendly meta description Unions urge the UK government to provide British Steel with £200m to keep Scunthorpe’s two blast furnaces running until electric arc furnaces can be built. Discover why nearly 2,000 jobs are at stake, and why steel’s transition to cleaner technology hangs in the balance.

The UK government has confirmed it will introduce a new set of strengthened steel safeguard measures from 1 July 2025, acting on urgent recommendations made by UK Steel amid growing concerns about a spike in redirected foreign imports.

Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds announced the changes today, which follow calls from UK Steel to take immediate action to protect domestic producers. The adjustments include a significant tightening of the steel import quota liberalisation rate from 3% to just 0.1% year-on-year—a move designed to counter the surge in imports that have been diverted away from the US market following President Trump’s imposition of new tariffs on steel products.

The government has also agreed to implement a cap on residual quotas, ensuring that individual countries cannot dominate market access and displace UK-manufactured steel. Country-specific import limits are to be made more stringent, while rules will be updated to prevent unused quarterly quotas from being carried over, and stop countries with dedicated quotas from dipping into residual allocations in the final quarter.

These changes mirror similar safeguards adopted by the European Union and are intended to shield UK producers from unfair competition and unsustainable price pressures caused by heavily subsidised foreign steel.

Welcoming the announcement, UK Steel Director-General Gareth Stace said the decision was “a swift and decisive move in support of British industry” and highlighted its urgency in light of steel redirected away from the US market flooding global supply chains.

“Jonathan Reynolds has shown that he is on the side of British industry by implementing these urgent safeguards,” Stace said. “This will help diminish the injury caused to UK steelmakers by a spike in redirected imports following the US steel tariffs. It sends a strong message to investors that the UK is committed to building a positive and stable business environment for industry.”

Stace added that while the tightened safeguards were a vital step forward, the government must now focus on developing a long-term trade defence mechanism to take effect when the current system expires at the end of next year.

The steel safeguards form part of a broader strategy to ensure the competitiveness of British manufacturing in a rapidly changing global trade environment. With steel supply chains facing ongoing turbulence and oversupply from state-subsidised producers, the UK sector has repeatedly called for robust trade defence tools to secure its future.

The announcement is likely to be welcomed by steel producers and workers across the UK, particularly in areas such as South Wales, Yorkshire, and the Midlands where the industry remains a critical economic pillar.

The government said it remains committed to supporting strategic sectors and ensuring the UK remains resilient in the face of global market disruption.

Further policy details are expected to be outlined in the upcoming Trade Strategy, due later this summer, which will lay the foundation for post-Brexit trade remedies and international competitiveness.

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UK government confirms tighter steel import safeguards from 1 July to protect domestic industry