A trader believes the domestic UK rebar producer and authorities were tipped off about a shipment of Vietnamese material it intended to import, just as a developing country review was announced on the material.
On 10 November, the UK Trade Remedies Authority announced an investigation into Vietnam's exemption from the current safeguard, at the behest of 7 Steel, as it has moved over the 3pc World Trade Organisation threshold and came into scope.
A London-based trader brought a 21,184t cargo of Vietnamese rebar into the UK in July. While this is the first shipment of Vietnamese material to the UK since 1991, it took Vietnam to 5.5pc of import supply between January 2024 and August 2025, excluding EU volumes. Including EU imports, it is 3.1pc of supply since January 2024 — just over the WTO threshold.
"The developing nation status exemption is not fit for purpose. Vietnam has a significantly larger steel industry than the UK and can divert massive quantities of steel towards the UK. They will clearly breach the 3pc threshold and by the time the quota is amended, the damage to domestic industry will have been done", UK Steel director for trade and economics policy Peter Brennan told Argus.
The trader said it confirmed its deal with a Vietnamese mill on 24 October and was negotiating with a southern port to bring in a vessel. In its complaint to the TRA, dated 21 October, 7 Steel said: "We also understand that an additional large shipment from Vietnam is currently en route and expected to arrive at UK ports imminently." Besides the July shipment, which left Vietnam in April, no other Vietnamese cargo has been sold to the UK.
The trader cancelled its cargo because it could not risk paying 25pc duties. UK fabricators say they have limited scope to buy imported rebar, given the fact the domestic producer owns around half the downstream market, and as sustainability criteria — especially for public infrastructure — reduces their pool of suppliers even further. Things were made more difficult still by the imposition of cap in July.
Since January, EU supply has accounted for over 40pc of imports, driven by Portugal. Turkey is the largest supplier, with nearly a third of imports, followed by Algeria at 16pc. Egypt, which sits in the residual quota alongside Algeria, has been at around 5pc since January 2024.
"It is cheaper to export scrap from Wales to Turkey, make the rebar in Turkey and ship it back to the UK than to melt the rebar in Wales. So to prevent this, the UK has imposed quotas on Turkey. It is worth adding that the Turkish producers have similar — and in some cases, lower — carbon emissions than 7," the importing trader said. He cited more competitive markets elsewhere, such as Turkey, and said the safeguard protects higher-cost production.
