The Confederation of British Metalforming (CBM) wants the government to significantly raise the tariff-free quotas for European steel imports to protect steel supplies to manufacturers.
Every warehouse equipment manufacturer needs plenty of steel to produce trolleys, tables, storage racks and other essential equipment used in the warehouse. The government wants to safeguard the British steel industry by adding a 25% tariff on the cost of imported European steel after the tariff-free quota runs out.
The current quota is expected to be exhausted soon, and the CBM has warned that there is not enough British steel available to fulfil the demand of manufacturers when the 25% tariff kicks in. If manufacturers cannot source enough British steel, they will have to pay more for their European steel supplies.
Under pressure from the CBM, the government has doubled the tariff-free quotas, and this has been welcomed by the group as a step in the right direction. However, the CBM believes the government could extend further protection to the steel supplies of UK manufacturers by increasing the duty-free quota to at least 33,000 tonnes per quarter.
In a statement, the President of the CBM, Steve Morley, said:
“The Government must listen to us. If they do, this will remove the current unnecessary burden that carries a very real threat to thousands of downstream manufacturing jobs, whilst leaving safeguarding categories in place to protect UK Steel members.”
Morley added that the current tariff situation makes it difficult for manufacturers to know their future steel costs.
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