Steel safeguarding poses threat to manufacturing jobs

The Confederation of British Metalforming (CBM) said it has seen its members severely impacted from tariffs designed to protect parts of the UK steel production sector that are currently struggling to meet domestic demand.

Tier1 companies and sub-contractors to automotive, aerospace, construction and general engineering have been paying hundreds of thousands of pounds to import their ‘Category 12’ steel - including critical quality and performance bar and section - from European mills, as the quarterly tariff-free quotas run down within a month.

Recent pleas from the CBM to remove engineering metals under the 7228 code has seen the government act, almost doubling the available quotas for this category before the 25 per cent tariff is applicable.

Whilst this move is welcomed, it does not go far enough to remove the financial cost felt in the supply chain and raises the prospect of lost orders and production being moved away from the UK.