The UK-based trade association UK Steel has urged the government to introduce its own Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) at the same time as the EU, noting that otherwise huge amounts of non-EU steel could enter the UK market and damage domestic industry.
According to the statement, 23 million mt of steel currently imported into the EU could be diverted from Europe to the UK market when the EU’s CBAM is put in place in 2026. As the steel consumption of the UK is 9 million mt per year, any imported, cheap and high-emission steel may be stacked in stockyards, undercutting local costs and devastating the domestic industry.
Another concern about the issue is its possible impact on UK’s steel exports. UK Steel stated that the European market has 75 percent of the share in UK steel exports and this may face a trade barrier from the European CBAM, unless the UK moves forwards with its own UK CBAM.
“Our annual steel consumption is at risk of being diverted from the EU to open markets like the UK, which could suffocate our domestic industry. By not acting now UK government will burst the dam, when high-emission, cheap steel floods the UK market while ruining our export opportunities at the same time,” Gareth Stace, director general of UK Steel, said, adding that the UK can lead the way to Net Zero steelmaking by having a competitive domestic steel industry.