Steel billets and slabs from China
Semi-finished non-alloy steel from China, including cast billets, blooms and slabs, pays 0% UK duty with no anti-dumping duty, and the 2026 steel measure carried no condition on these lines when read. Billets are bought on heat chemistry and internal soundness, checked against an EN 10204 3.1 certificate and macro-etch tests. Cambridge China Bridge sources semi-finished steel.
Semi-finished steel billets, blooms and slabs from China pay 0% UK duty with no steel measure on these lines. Grade, casting defects, sampling and an example.
Zero duty and no steel measure on billets
Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 26 September 2026, semi-finished products of iron or non-alloy steel of heading 7207, whether square or rectangular in section, rolled, continuously cast or forged, with less than or more than 0.25% carbon, carried 0% duty on goods from China, with no anti-dumping measure. None of the lines checked carried the document condition of the 2026 steel measure, which applies to many finished flat and long products.
The code is split by carbon content, cross-section, thickness and whether the product is cast or forged, and alloy steel semis are in heading 7224. Confirm the commodity code from the mill certificate. Our alloy steel bars guide covers the rolled product.
| Goods | Commodity code | Duty | Anti-dumping duty on China |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rectangular section, under 0.25% carbon, up to 130 mm thick | 7207 11 14 00 | 0% | None |
| Rectangular section, under 0.25% carbon, over 130 mm thick | 7207 11 16 00 | 0% | None |
| Other rectangular section, under 0.25% carbon, cast (slabs) | 7207 12 10 00 | 0% | None |
| Other section, under 0.25% carbon, cast | 7207 19 12 00 | 0% | None |
| 0.25% to 0.6% carbon, square section | 7207 20 15 00 | 0% | None |
| 0.6% or more carbon, square section | 7207 20 17 00 | 0% | None |
| 0.25% or more carbon, other rectangular section, cast | 7207 20 52 00 | 0% | None |
Grades, certificates and shipping
Billets are ordered by the grade of the product they will be rolled into, such as a rebar grade to BS 4449 or a structural grade to BS EN 10025-2, with limits on carbon, manganese, sulphur, phosphorus, copper and residual elements, and by section size, length and straightness. Ask for an inspection certificate type 3.1 to BS EN 10204 for each heat, naming the heat number that is stamped or painted on every billet.
Billets ship as break-bulk or in containers by weight, and a load of steel is dense enough that the container's payload limit decides the quantity rather than its volume. Agree the loading plan, lashing and the sampling basis before production, because disputes are settled on the heat certificates and the umpire tests.
Worked duty example
Take a hypothetical order of 1,000 tonnes of continuously cast square billets, entered under 7207 20 52 00: £400,000 free on board plus £30,000 of freight and insurance gives a customs value of £430,000. Steel billets carry no duty, so import VAT of 20% on £430,000, £86,000, is the only tax. A VAT-registered importer normally reclaims it, so the border adds no lasting cost. The 50% steel measure that applies to many finished steel products carried no condition on these billet lines when read, but finished bars and sections rolled from them may be caught, so check each downstream code. Step by step: UK import duty and VAT.
What goes wrong
Billets fail on chemistry, internal defects and surface. Residual copper, tin or sulphur above the limit makes the steel crack when rolled; centre porosity, pipe and segregation from poor casting show up as internal cracks in the finished bar; and surface cracks, laps and scale pits carry through to the product. Heat numbers are missing or mixed, so a failed test cannot be traced.
Check each heat by spark optical emission spectrometry against the 3.1 certificate, cut discs from sample billets for macro-etch examination to ASTM E381 or a sulphur print to ISO 4968 to check internal soundness, measure section, length and straightness, inspect surfaces for cracks and laps, and confirm that every billet's heat number matches the certificate before loading.
Cambridge China Bridge sources billets, blooms and slabs for rolling mills and forges on contract, with heat certificates and umpire testing agreed up front. See our container programme service.
Frequently asked questions
What is the UK import duty on steel billets from China?
Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 26 September 2026, semi-finished non-alloy steel billets, blooms and slabs of heading 7207 carried 0% from China, with no anti-dumping duty.
Does the 2026 steel measure apply to billets?
The billet lines checked carried no condition of the steel measure, but products rolled from them may, so check each downstream code.
Which certificate should come with billets?
An inspection certificate type 3.1 to BS EN 10204 for each heat, naming the heat number marked on the billets.
How is billet soundness checked?
By macro-etch examination to ASTM E381 or a sulphur print to ISO 4968 on discs cut from sample billets.