UK Launches Steel Strategy With £2.5 Billion and 50% Tariffs

Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Business and Trade Secretary Peter Kyle unveiled a national Steel Strategy on March 19, 2026, aimed at reversing de-industrialisation and boosting domestic production from 30% to 50% of total demand. The plan, launched at Tata Steel’s Port Talbot plant, frames domestic steelmaking as essential for national security and critical infrastructure.

To combat global overcapacity and cheap imports, the government will reduce steel import quotas by 60% starting July 1, 2026, applying a 50% tariff to any imports exceeding those limits. This policy aligns the UK with similar protections in the U.S., EU, and Canada. The strategy is supported by up to £2.5 billion in financing via the National Wealth Fund to modernize the sector and transition from blast furnaces to cleaner electric arc furnaces to meet net-zero targets.

Additional measures include integrating steel manufacturers into Clean Industry Bonus applications for offshore wind and creating a cross-government working group for scrap metal supply. The government also aims to maintain operations at sites in Scunthorpe and Rotherham.

Industry body UK Steel and trade unions praised the move as a necessary shift away from free-trade ideology. However, the Conservative Party criticized the plan as a "multibillion-pound shot in the dark." Shadow ministers argued that the protectionist tariffs would act as a tax on the construction industry and subsidize industrial decline.