Days left in quarter
–
Q1 · 1 Jul – 30 Sep 2026
Quota lines tracked
72
20 steel categories
Critical / exhausted
–
≥ 90% used or closed
Fastest-burning line
–
by share of quota used
50% out-of-quota tariff. Imports above the quota pay a 50% duty on the value of the goods — double the old safeguard rate.
First come, first served. HMRC allocates quota at the border as goods arrive. When it's gone, it's gone until next quarter.
Quarterly + rollover. Unused quota rolls into the next quarter within the year (to 30 Jun 2027), so balances can exceed the printed allocation.
Contracts signed before 14 Mar 2026 are exempt — until 30 Sep 2026. Goods meeting an obligation under a contract concluded before 14 March 2026 and imported between 1 July and 30 September 2026 pay no 50% duty and do not count against the quota. Goods released from a customs warehouse in that window can also qualify. You must claim it — check the eligibility and evidence rules in the GOV.UK implementation notifications.
Ukraine is excluded. The measure does not apply to steel goods originating in Ukraine — no quota, no 50% duty. Preferential rates under the UK–Ukraine agreement apply instead, provided the goods meet its rules of origin. Ukraine does not appear as an origin in the quota lines below.
A note on prices: quota exhaustion does not automatically move steel prices. The 50% tariff applies only to imports above quota from covered origins — UK-produced steel, in-quota imports and existing stock are not directly affected, and suppliers price on many other factors (energy, scrap, demand, freight). Treat quota status as a supply-risk signal, not a price forecast.
Know the grade, not the category? Try:
Open (<70% used)
Watch (70–90%)
Critical (>90%)
Exhausted
ℹ ×pace = usage speed vs time elapsed
Fetching live balances from the UK Trade Tariff API…
Live balances are temporarily unavailable — showing official quarterly allocations only. Please try again shortly.
Steel grade directory — which UK import quota does your grade fall under?
Engineers buy EN3B, EN19 or 304 stainless — not "category 27". This directory maps the grades used in UK workshops to the quota category they are imported under from 1 July 2026, by product form. Click any grade to check its live quota balance above. Balances are fetched live from HMRC's Trade Tariff service every time this page loads; HMRC publishes updated quota allocations daily (typically early morning, UK time). Classification always depends on the exact commodity code — confirm with your supplier or customs agent.
Carbon & alloy bar grades
Cat 27 Bright / cold-drawn bar · Cat 16 Hot-rolled rod (wire rod)
Cat 27 Bright / cold-drawn bar · Cat 12B Black / hot-rolled bar
Cat 27 Bright / cold-drawn bar · Cat 12B Black / hot-rolled bar
Cat 27 Bright bar · Cat 12B Black / hot-rolled bar
Cat 27 Bright / pre-hardened bar · Cat 12A Black / hot-rolled bar
Cat 27 Bright / pre-hardened bar · Cat 12A Black / hot-rolled bar
Cat 27 Bright / pre-hardened bar · Cat 12A Black / hot-rolled bar
Cat 27 Bright bar · Cat 12A Black / hot-rolled bar
Cat 27 Bright bar · Cat 12A Black / hot-rolled bar
Cat 27 Bright / ground bar · Cat 12A Black / hot-rolled bar
Cat 27 Bright bar · Cat 12B Black / hot-rolled bar
Cat 27 Bright bar · Cat 12A Black / hot-rolled bar
Cat 27 Bright bar · Cat 12A Black / hot-rolled bar
Cat 27 Bright bar · Cat 12A Black / hot-rolled bar
Cat 27 Bright bar · Cat 12A Black / hot-rolled bar
Cat 27 Bright bar · Cat 12A Black / hot-rolled bar
Cat 12A Hot-rolled bar / flat · ✓ Cold-rolled spring strip: no quota
Cat 27 Ground / cold-finished bar
Cat 27 Bright drawn bar
Cat 27 Bright / cold-drawn bar · Cat 12B Black / hot-rolled bar · Cat 1 Hot-rolled sheet / coil · Cat 7 Plate (quarto)
Stainless steels
Cat 14 Bar & light sections · Cat 15 Wire rod · ✓ Sheet / plate / tube: no quota
Cat 14 Bar & light sections · Cat 15 Wire rod · ✓ Sheet / plate: no quota
Cat 14 Bar & light sections · Cat 15 Wire rod · ✓ Sheet / plate: no quota
Cat 14 Bar & light sections · Cat 15 Wire rod · ✓ Sheet / plate: no quota
Cat 14 Bar & light sections · ✓ Sheet / plate: no quota
Cat 14 Bar & light sections · ✓ Sheet / plate: no quota
Cat 14 Bar & light sections
Cat 14 Bar & light sections · ✓ Sheet / plate: no quota
Cat 14 Bar & light sections
Structural, plate & sheet
Cat 7 Plate (quarto) · Cat 1 Hot-rolled sheet / strip / coil · Cat 17 Angles, channels, beams, sections · Cat 21 Hollow section (SHS/RHS)
Cat 7 Plate (quarto) · Cat 1 Hot-rolled sheet / coil
Cat 7 Alloy quarto plate
Cat 7 Quarto plate
Cat 1 Hot-rolled sheet / coil · Cat 7 Quarto plate (thick)
Cat 1 Hot-rolled sheet / strip / coil
Cat 4 Metallic coated sheet / coil
Cat 5 Organic coated sheet
Cat 6 Tin mill products
Tubes, sections, rod & rebar
Cat 13 Reinforcing bar
Cat 16 Hot-rolled wire rod · Cat 28 Cold-drawn wire
Cat 17 Angles, shapes & sections
Cat 19 Railway material
Cat 21 Welded square / rectangular hollow section
Cat 20 Welded circular ≤168.3 mm · Cat 26 Other welded tube
Cat 26 Other welded tubes · Cat 25B Large welded tubes (>406 mm)
Cat 25A Large welded tubes (1) · Cat 25B Large welded tubes (2)
✓ All seamless tube: no quota
Not covered — no quota risk
✓ All forms: no quota
✓ All forms: no quota
✓ All forms: no quota
✓ All forms: no quota
✓ All forms: no quota
✓ Sheet / coil: no quota
✓ All forms: no quota
✓ All forms: no quota
Where the UK's steel imports come from
Import volumes per quota category from HMRC customs declarations, to May 26 (HMRC publishes with a ~2-month lag). Navy line: monthly tonnage. Orange: 3-month weighted average, recent months weighted 3:2:1. Together with the live balances above, this shows who supplies the UK — and what happens when their quota runs out.
Cat 1
Hot-rolled sheets & strips
1,356 ktimported, last 12 mo
EU 71%Turkey 6%Egypt 6%Others 17%
Monthly imports (kt)3-month weighted avg (3:2:1)
May 26 vs May 25: −22% (same month, year on year) · last 12 months vs previous 12: −0%
Quota status: loading live balance… See live status ↑
Cat 4
Metallic coated sheets
970 ktimported, last 12 mo
EU 50%Taiwan 13%Turkey 12%Others 25%
Monthly imports (kt)3-month weighted avg (3:2:1)
May 26 vs May 25: +47% (same month, year on year) · last 12 months vs previous 12: −4%
Quota status: loading live balance… See live status ↑
Cat 17
Angles & sections
488 ktimported, last 12 mo
EU 82%Turkey 9%China 3%Others 6%
Monthly imports (kt)3-month weighted avg (3:2:1)
May 26 vs May 25: +40% (same month, year on year) · last 12 months vs previous 12: −16%
Quota status: loading live balance… See live status ↑
Cat 13
Rebars
321 ktimported, last 12 mo
Turkey 49%EU 30%Vietnam 7%Others 14%
Monthly imports (kt)3-month weighted avg (3:2:1)
May 26 vs May 25: −41% (same month, year on year) · last 12 months vs previous 12: −20%
Quota status: loading live balance… See live status ↑
Cat 7
Quarto plates
295 ktimported, last 12 mo
EU 80%South Korea 6%Indonesia 4%Others 10%
Monthly imports (kt)3-month weighted avg (3:2:1)
May 26 vs May 25: −14% (same month, year on year) · last 12 months vs previous 12: −4%
Quota status: loading live balance… See live status ↑
Cat 21
Hollow sections
216 ktimported, last 12 mo
Turkey 70%EU 24%UAE 5%Others 1%
Monthly imports (kt)3-month weighted avg (3:2:1)
May 26 vs May 25: +46% (same month, year on year) · last 12 months vs previous 12: +30%
Quota status: loading live balance… See live status ↑
Cat 12B
Non-alloy merchant bars
187 ktimported, last 12 mo
EU 57%Turkey 32%China 5%Others 6%
Monthly imports (kt)3-month weighted avg (3:2:1)
May 26 vs May 25: +80% (same month, year on year) · last 12 months vs previous 12: +16%
Quota status: loading live balance… See live status ↑
Cat 16
Wire rod
153 ktimported, last 12 mo
EU 80%Egypt 13%Turkey 6%Others 1%
Monthly imports (kt)3-month weighted avg (3:2:1)
May 26 vs May 25: −37% (same month, year on year) · last 12 months vs previous 12: −43%
Quota status: loading live balance… See live status ↑
Show all 20 categories
Cat 5
Organic coated sheets
149 ktimported, last 12 mo
EU 49%South Korea 39%Vietnam 6%Others 6%
Monthly imports (kt)3-month weighted avg (3:2:1)
May 26 vs May 25: −15% (same month, year on year) · last 12 months vs previous 12: −7%
Quota status: loading live balance… See live status ↑
Cat 26
Other welded tubes
147 ktimported, last 12 mo
EU 33%Turkey 29%UAE 16%Others 22%
Monthly imports (kt)3-month weighted avg (3:2:1)
May 26 vs May 25: +54% (same month, year on year) · last 12 months vs previous 12: +13%
Quota status: loading live balance… See live status ↑
Cat 20
Gas pipes
81 ktimported, last 12 mo
Turkey 58%EU 14%India 13%Others 15%
Monthly imports (kt)3-month weighted avg (3:2:1)
May 26 vs May 25: +132% (same month, year on year) · last 12 months vs previous 12: +13%
Quota status: loading live balance… See live status ↑
Cat 12A
Alloy merchant bars
75 ktimported, last 12 mo
EU 90%Turkey 4%Hong Kong 2%Others 4%
Monthly imports (kt)3-month weighted avg (3:2:1)
May 26 vs May 25: −2% (same month, year on year) · last 12 months vs previous 12: −20%
Quota status: loading live balance… See live status ↑
Cat 27
Cold finished bars
58 ktimported, last 12 mo
EU 62%Turkey 30%China 5%Others 3%
Monthly imports (kt)3-month weighted avg (3:2:1)
May 26 vs May 25: +61% (same month, year on year) · last 12 months vs previous 12: +10%
Quota status: loading live balance… See live status ↑
Cat 28
Non-alloy wire
48 ktimported, last 12 mo
EU 65%China 24%Turkey 7%Others 4%
Monthly imports (kt)3-month weighted avg (3:2:1)
May 26 vs May 25: +65% (same month, year on year) · last 12 months vs previous 12: −14%
Quota status: loading live balance… See live status ↑
Cat 6
Tin mill products
41 ktimported, last 12 mo
China 39%EU 38%Taiwan 12%Others 11%
Monthly imports (kt)3-month weighted avg (3:2:1)
May 26 vs May 25: −2% (same month, year on year) · last 12 months vs previous 12: −18%
Quota status: loading live balance… See live status ↑
Cat 14
Stainless bars
39 ktimported, last 12 mo
EU 81%India 9%Taiwan 4%Others 6%
Monthly imports (kt)3-month weighted avg (3:2:1)
May 26 vs May 25: +19% (same month, year on year) · last 12 months vs previous 12: −4%
Quota status: loading live balance… See live status ↑
Cat 25A
Large welded tubes (1)
34 ktimported, last 12 mo
EU 92%China 4%South Korea 1%Others 3%
Monthly imports (kt)3-month weighted avg (3:2:1)
last 12 months vs previous 12: +61%
Quota status: loading live balance… See live status ↑
Cat 25B
Large welded tubes (2)
31 ktimported, last 12 mo
EU 73%South Korea 9%Japan 5%Others 13%
Monthly imports (kt)3-month weighted avg (3:2:1)
May 26 vs May 25: −57% (same month, year on year) · last 12 months vs previous 12: −20%
Quota status: loading live balance… See live status ↑
Cat 19
Railway material
12 ktimported, last 12 mo
EU 99%China 1%Hong Kong 0%Others 0%
Monthly imports (kt)3-month weighted avg (3:2:1)
May 26 vs May 25: −45% (same month, year on year) · last 12 months vs previous 12: −23%
Quota status: loading live balance… See live status ↑
Cat 15
Stainless wire rod
2 ktimported, last 12 mo
Taiwan 29%EU 26%China 21%Others 24%
Monthly imports (kt)3-month weighted avg (3:2:1)
last 12 months vs previous 12: +0%
Quota status: loading live balance… See live status ↑
Source: HMRC Overseas Trade Statistics (uktradeinfo.com), customs declarations by commodity code, refreshed monthly. Figures are code-level: engineering grades (EN24, S355…) share commodity codes with other grades of the same form. Import volume ≠ quota usage — quotas meter tariff-free entry, imports above quota still flow at the 50% tariff.
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