Asked by: Baroness Redfern (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to secure tariff-free movement of steel from the UK to Northern Ireland, given the recent application of tariff on such movements.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Lainston
In January 2021, the Government implemented measures to ensure UK traders could move steel products captured by the EU’s steel safeguard quota, tariff-free, to Northern Ireland while the quota was open. Since July 2022, the quota for certain steel product categories has been filling up rapidly due to changes to the quota allocation by the EU. Where a tariff is due, traders may be able to use the Customs Duty Waiver Scheme.
The Government continues to engage with the EU to find a solution to ensure that trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland can take place without undue disruption.
Asked by: Baroness Redfern (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the volumes of Russian steel entering the UK that have been processed in third countries; and whether steel entering the country in this way would violate existing sanctions.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Shadow Minister (Work and Pensions)
The UK has been at the forefront of efforts to restrict imports from key Russian industries following their illegal invasion of Ukraine. This includes steel products, where we have banned the import of all finished steel, and put in place tariff increases of 35 percentage points on all steel. Since April, the UK has imported no steel defined as finished or semi-finished directly from Russia.
The Government recognises that any circumvention of sanctions measures through third countries undermines their wider impact, and we are working alongside international partners to address any potential loopholes in our sanctions regimes.