Press & Media
Everything needed to cite, embed or screenshot the Free Steel Quota Tracker on a deadline.
What this is, in three sentences
The Free Steel Quota Tracker shows live balances of the UK's steel import quotas — the tariff-free allowances that decide when the 50% out-of-quota tariff applies under the UK steel trade measure in force since 1 July 2026. It reads official HMRC data (the UK Trade Tariff service) on every page load; HMRC updates allocations daily. It also maps workshop steel grades (EN3B, EN24, S355, 304 stainless…) to their quota categories, and shows monthly UK import volumes by origin from HMRC customs statistics.
Reuse — you're welcome to
Charts, screenshots and figures from the tracker are free to reuse in news reporting with credit to "TrueNorth Engineering" (link appreciated: truenorth-engineering.co.uk). The underlying quota and trade data is public sector information (HMRC) under the Open Government Licence v3.0; the tracker's presentation, grade mapping and analysis are ours.
- Broadcast-friendly view: the big-screen board — full-screen live quota status, no navigation chrome, auto-refreshing. Made for studio screens and B-roll.
- Share image: og-quota-tracker.png (1200×630).
- Deep links: every category is directly linkable, e.g. …tracker.html#cat-13 for rebar.
- Live feed: quota exhaustion events are posted on X — @UKSteelQuota.
Methodology, honestly stated
- Quota balances come from HMRC's UK Trade Tariff API at page load — the same figures HMRC publishes; typically refreshed daily, early morning UK time. Balances can change intraday at HMRC between publications.
- Import volumes come from HMRC Overseas Trade Statistics (uktradeinfo.com), by commodity code, published monthly with a ~2-month lag.
- Grade-to-category mapping is editorial guidance by form and process: the exact commodity code decides classification, and the tracker says so wherever a grade result is shown.
- Projections ("may exhaust ~date") are straight-line estimates from usage so far in the quarter — a supply-risk signal, not a forecast of prices or a guarantee.
Quick facts (checkable against the tracker live)
- The UK steel trade measure (from 1 July 2026) covers 20 categories of steel across 72 country-specific quota lines, allocated quarterly, first come, first served.
- Imports above an exhausted quota line pay a 50% tariff until the next quarterly allocation.
- Quota categories map to real purchasing: rebar, structural sections, plate, coated sheet, stainless and engineering bar — the tracker translates them to the grade names buyers actually use.
Comment & interviews
Jan-Marc Pickhan, Director, TrueNorth Engineering Ltd (Manchester) — sales@tneltd.com · +44 7757 174 197. Same-day response for press deadlines.
Boilerplate — copy-paste
TrueNorth Engineering is a Manchester-based precision manufacturing supplier — CNC machining, fabrication and supply-chain management — serving UK engineering buyers. It built the Free Steel Quota Tracker so buyers can see quota risk before the 50% tariff reaches their invoices.