United Kingdom customs declared the Türkiye quota for cold finished steel bars exhausted from 2 October 2026, so these bars pay the 50% out-of-quota duty until 31 December 2026.
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), the UK customs authority, declared on Oct. 2, 2026 that the tariff-free quota for cold finished steel bars from Türkiye is used up, so these bars now pay the full out-of-quota duty until Dec. 31, 2026.
The notice covers quota order number 058666, which is Category 27 of the UK’s steel trade measure. It took effect on the day it was published, Oct. 2, 20261.
In short, Turkish cold finished bars no longer enter the UK duty-free for the rest of this year. A shipment declared now faces the 50% out-of-quota duty instead, unless it can use another route set out in the rules.
What did HMRC announce on Oct. 2?
HMRC published a short "Tariff Stop Press" notice on the UK Integrated Online Tariff, the government’s official tariff lookup service. The notice says quota 058666, for "Category 27 Cold finished Bars", is exhausted with effect from Oct. 2, 20261. Exhausted means no tariff-free volume is left to hand out.
The notice says the quota period ends on Dec. 31, 20261. The tariff’s own quota search page shows the same quota as "Exhausted"2. It gives the period as Oct. 1, 2026 to Dec. 31, 2026, and the last allocation date as Oct. 1, 2026.
That means the tariff-free volume for this quarter was handed out on the first day of the quarter. A shipment declared from Oct. 2 cannot get any of it.
Which steel bars are affected?
The notice lists 9 commodity codes, the numbers used on a customs declaration to classify goods1.
The codes are:
- 7215100000
- 7215501100
- 7215501900
- 7215508000
- 7228109000
- 7228502000
- 7228504000
- 7228506900
- 7228508000
The Department for Business and Trade’s decision on the steel trade measure lists the same nine goods under Product Category 27: non-alloy and other alloy cold finished bars3. It gives them as 8-digit codes, from 72151000 to 72285080. The quota is only for bars that come from Türkiye. Bars of the same codes from other origins draw on their own quotas, which have separate order numbers.
How big was the Turkish quota?
The quota search page gives an opening balance of 1,342,000 kilograms, or 1,342 tonnes, for the October to December period2. The government’s quota table shows the same figure: 1,342 tonnes for Türkiye in Category 27 for each of the first three quarters, and 1,345 tonnes in the last3. That adds up to an annual quota of 5,371 tonnes.
Category 27 quarterly quotas by origin, tonnes
Türkiye is one of three quota holders in Category 27. The table gives each quarter3:
- European Union: 4,952 tonnes, order number 058665
- Türkiye: 1,342 tonnes, order number 058666
- Residual: 1,087 tonnes, order number 058667
The residual quota is a shared pool for all other countries that do not have their own quota. Turkish goods take their tariff-free volume from order number 0586663.
What duty applies once the quota is gone?
Under the steel trade measure, steel imported outside the quota pays a 50% duty on the value of the goods3. The duty is worked out on the price of the goods before any other import duties are added. On the UK’s online tariff tool, this charge is shown as the "Third-country duty"4.
Turkish cold finished bars, inside and outside the quota
| Question | Inside the quota | After it is exhausted |
|---|---|---|
| 50% out-of-quota duty | Not charged | 50% of the goods’ value |
| Anti-dumping duties | Still apply | Add on top of the 50% |
| Order number on declaration | 058666 | No volume left until Dec. 31 |
So a Turkish bar shipment valued at 100,000 pounds would carry 50,000 pounds of this duty once the quota is exhausted. Inside the quota, it would have paid none of the out-of-quota charge.
The out-of-quota duty is not the only charge. The UK has 17 anti-dumping and anti-subsidy measures on steel imports, extra duties on goods sold too cheaply or helped by foreign subsidies4. The government’s implementation notice says these duties add on top of the 50% duty once quotas are exhausted.
Why does the UK limit steel imports?
The government announced the steel trade measure on March 19, 2026, and it took effect on July 1, 20263. It replaced the earlier steel safeguard quotas and their 25% additional duty, which ended on June 30, 2026. The new measure cut overall quota volumes by 51% compared with the safeguard.
The government says domestic steelmaking is essential for critical national infrastructure and defence3. It cites a gap between global steel capacity and demand expected to reach 721 million tonnes by 2027, according to the OECD. It also says UK crude steel production has fallen by more than 50% in the last 10 years.
The measure applies to steel products that can be made in the UK3. Cold finished bars are one of 20 product categories in it.
How does an importer claim quota?
HMRC gives access to the quotas on a first come, first served basis4. Importers ask for it by citing the order number when they apply to HMRC.
How quota is handed out
The process works in this order:
- The importer declares the goods and cites the quota order number, here 058666, with the right preference code4.
- HMRC allocates quota to claims each working day, excluding weekends and bank holidays2.
- The updated balance appears on the online tariff tool on the next working day.
- When the balance runs out, HMRC marks the quota exhausted and later claims pay the out-of-quota duty.
A quota becomes "critical" once 90% of its quarterly volume has been allocated4. At that point an importer must provide security for the full amount of duty, because the claim may be refused. This security can be given through a general guarantee account.
Because allocation runs daily, the Turkish volume was all allocated on Oct. 1, the first day of the quarter2. Shipments declared on that day had the best chance of getting tariff-free treatment.
Who is affected by the exhausted Türkiye quota?
The change reaches several groups along the supply chain:
- UK importers of Turkish cold finished bars now pay the 50% duty on new declarations until the quarter ends.
- Customs brokers can no longer claim order 058666 for these goods this quarter.
- Turkish steel makers lose duty-free access to the UK for these bars until a new quarter starts.
- UK buyers of bars may face higher prices for Turkish supply.
Goods from Ukraine are outside the measure. Steel that originates in Ukraine keeps the preferential rates of the UK-Ukraine trade agreement, as long as it meets that agreement’s rules of origin3.
The short-term exemption for older contracts no longer helps. It covered goods under contract before March 14, 2026, but only when imported between July 1 and Sept. 30, 20264. That window closed before this quota ran out.
Can steel avoid the duty through processing or storage?
Steel can still go into inward processing or a freeport with import duties suspended4. Inward processing is a customs procedure that lets a firm import goods, work on them and send them abroad without paying duty.
If the processed steel is later released for sale in the UK, duty is worked out on the steel as it was first declared into the procedure4. The processed product does not get a lower rate. No import duty is due if the processed goods are exported directly from the UK, as long as they are not re-imported within 12 months.
Goods placed in a storage procedure and later released for UK sale also fall under the measure4. Storage therefore does not avoid the 50% duty.
When does tariff-free access return?
The quota period ends on Dec. 31, 20261. The steel measure splits each quota year into four quarters, and the next one runs from Jan. 1 to March 313. The Türkiye quota for Category 27 in that quarter is again 1,342 tonnes.
Unused quota volumes carry over into the next quarter within the same quota year4. The carryover takes effect on the 20th working day after the quarter ends. Volume left at the end of the quota year lapses.
The quota search page shows a "pending balance" field. It says volume left from the previous period will move to the current period about 20 working days after that period ends2. The page does not give an amount for that balance.
Importers also have limited time to claim against an earlier quarter. Claims on the previous quarter’s quota can be made until the end of the 19th working day of the month after quarters 1 to 3 end4.
Key points on the Türkiye cold finished bars quota
The table sums up the notice and the rules behind it.
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| What changed? | Türkiye quota 058666 is exhausted |
| Who announced it? | HM Revenue and Customs |
| Which goods? | Cold finished steel bars, Category 27 |
| How many codes? | 9 commodity codes |
| From when? | Oct. 2, 2026 |
| Until when? | Dec. 31, 2026 |
| Quarterly Turkish quota | 1,342 tonnes |
| Duty outside the quota | 50% of the goods’ value |
| Other duties | Anti-dumping duties add on top |
| How quota is given | First come, first served |
| Next quarter | Jan. 1 to March 31 |
Until the next quarter opens on Jan. 1, Turkish cold finished bars declared in the UK pay the 50% out-of-quota duty. A new Türkiye volume of 1,342 tonnes then becomes available, again on a first come, first served basis3.
Sources
- ↩ Türkiye Quota 058666 Volume Update – 2 October 2026 – UK Integrated Online Tariff https://www.trade-tariff.service.gov.uk/news/stories/trkiye-quota-058666-volume-update–2-october-2026
- ↩ UK Integrated Online Tariff: Look up commodity codes, duty and VAT rates – GOV.UK https://www.trade-tariff.service.gov.uk/quota_search?order_number=058666
- ↩ UK’s steel trade measure from 1 July 2026 – GOV.UK https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uks-steel-trade-measure-from-1-july-2026/uks-steel-trade-measure-from-1-july-2026
- ↩ Implementation notifications on the UK steel trade measure – GOV.UK https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uks-steel-trade-measure-from-1-july-2026/implementation-notifications-on-the-transitional-exemption-quota-administration-and-the-ukraine-exclusion