Thousands of UK business leaders are celebrating the removal of a red tape burden which was hampering iron and steel exports.
Since last autumn, companies exporting the products to the EU have been required to provide ‘mill certificates’ to prove they did not originate from Russia.
Following sustained representations by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), the paperwork requirement – which was proving problematic and in many cases too expensive for firms – has now been scrapped.
Along with UK and European officials the BCC expressed the view in a series of meetings that crucial export markets were being lost.
Now officials in Brussels have now designated the UK as a partner country on steel sanctions against Russia, meaning the certification paperwork is no longer needed.
The BCC’s Head of Trade Policy William Bain said: “Businesses up and down the country will be delighted at this outcome. A lot of hard work has got us to this position, which is strongly welcomed by the whole Chamber Network.
“We had many meetings and communications with both the UK government and the EU to highlight the negative impact the mill certificate requirements were having. In roundtables with senior officials, firms bravely described their experiences of ongoing lost orders and cash flow issues.
“Without those accounts from real businesses about the nature of the problem, and the need for a pragmatic fix, we could not have got this far. We’d like to thank to UK and EU officials for listening to the concerns of businesses and agreeing a solution.
“This is a big win for the collective power of our Chamber network. It’s a welcome boost for thousands of British exporters.”
