New tariff-rate quotas are “biting hard” on imports and bright spots of steel demand are increasingly scarce, according to guests on MEPS’s UK Metals Expo preview episode of the Speaking of Steel podcast.
The new podcast looks ahead to the two-day event, which will take place at the NEC Birmingham on November 4 and 5, exploring the hot topics that will be discussed in MEPS’s on-stage panel debates focussed on the carbon and stainless steel markets. It also reveals MEPS’s plan to officially unveil its new steel price intelligence portal, MEPS 360, at the annual event.
International Steel Trade Association president Godfrey Watt, Langley Alloys director Rodney Rice and Seven Steel commercial director Laura Thomas joined the MEPS team for the discussion.
The 35-minute UK Metals Expo Special podcast is available now and includes insight into:
How a “transitional period” delayed the significant effects of the UK’s new tariff-rate quota regime.
UK CBAM’s implementation: what we know now and market participants’ hopes for greater near-term clarity.
In -show opportunities to preview the new MEPS 360 steel price intelligence portal.
Details of MEPS’s carbon and stainless steel panel debates at Theatre 4 of the Birmingham NEC event.
6 Oct 2026
Ukrainian outages tighten Central European steel supply
Ukrainian production outages and rising fuel costs have focussed Central European steel buyers’ attentions on domestic coil supply, MEPS’s latest Market in Minutes podcast reveals.
A tightening of supply in Poland and Czechia helped to support the price of coil products assessed by MEPS in its latest International Steel Report (https://mepsinternational.com/gb/en/products/international-steel-review). However, steel market analyst Chris Jackson expects subdued demand to undermine the upward price trend.
Jackson said: “In the longer term, it's fair to say that it may be a difficult task for steel mills and the supply chain to maintain those kinds of price levels if there is little improvement in demand.”
MEPS managing editor Tom Sharpe hosts the Poland and Czechia-focussed Market in Minutes podcast which is available now via YouTube, Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
The full 12-minute podcast also discusses:
Central Europe’s steel demand bright spots, including the region’s automotive and defence sectors.
Central European service centres’ and end-users’ Brussels protests over increased downstream competition (https://mepsinternational.com/gb/en/news/eu-trade-defences-shift-overseas-competition-downstream) from overseas suppliers.
Rising interest rates and their effect on steel demand.
7 Sept 2026
Podcast: finding clarity in EU’s CBAM ‘document dumps’
CBAM experts shared insight and real-world experience to bring clarity to the EU’s emissions-based border controls in MEPS’s new Speaking of Steel podcast.
MEPS steel market analyst Jon Carruthers-Green was joined by carbon and energy specialist Andy Proctor, from Auditel, and international trade expert Kieran McCann, of Allied Group, to provide a 40-minute update on CBAM.
Alongside detail from a series of recent European Commission “document dumps”, which provide new detail on the legislation’s continued rollout, the episode features real-world accounts of potentially costly compliance issues encountered by steel importers, as well as:
Steel importers’ key contractual considerations when agreeing DDP import terms to mitigate CBAM costs.
The January 2027 launch of a UK CBAM and its possible implications for EU trade.
Northern Ireland’s unique position between EU and UK import frameworks and its impending relationship with CBAM.
Who has been a guest on Speaking of Steel
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Laura Hodges
Jon Carruthers-Green
Adam Crookes
Benedicte Mikolajczak
Kaye Ayub
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