The UK government has announced that it has updated the regulations as part of the Public Procurement Notice (PPN) for the reporting of the origin of the steel used in public projects, which will strengthen the tracking of steel sources.
The revision is expected to increase the procurement of more UK-made melted and poured steel in the country, making UK buyers refrain from procuring sanctioned material.
“Until now, public infrastructure could have used Russian steel and nobody would even know it. Public projects in the UK used £640 million of steel in 2020-21, only using around £268 million of UK-made steel, showing a huge potential for improved domestic uptake if the revised PPN is adhered to. Buying British steel will also boost British jobs,” Gareth Stace, director general of UK Steel trade association, said.
In addition, despite the UK’s ban on imports of finished steel from Russia imposed in April last year, Russia generated billions of dollars as third countries processed and exported Russian steel purchased at low price levels to the EU at lower prices, hitting the competitiveness of domestic prices in the UK, as SteelOrbis previously reported.