Steel from outside Great Britain and the EU that was sold into Northern Ireland will clear against the UK import quota for the respective region.

 

However, there needs to be sufficient capacity in both the EU and UK quotas for this interim solution to be utilised.

 

"We continue to discuss with the European Commission the application of their safeguards and the increase of the quotas for UK exports into the EU single market under the EU steel safeguard measures to account for direct movements of affected steel products from Great Britain to Northern Ireland," Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs said.

 

Any steel headed from Great Britain into Northern Ireland is drawn down against the EU's import quota for the UK. So shipments from the rest of the world into Northern Ireland will draw down the UK's own import quota, but UK ‘exports' into Northern Ireland will reduce the European quota for the UK. Under the Irish Protocol, the EU retains unfettered access to Northern Ireland and can sell steel into the country without a quota or duty, despite earlier UK guidance that there would be a straight duty.