The ‘Made in UK’ Premium: How a US Rule Made British Steel More Valuable

A proposed US trade rule inadvertently created a “Made in UK” premium for steel, making the product from British Steel’s Scunthorpe plant exceptionally valuable to its rival, Tata Steel. The “melted and poured” clause meant that the geographic origin of the steel slab became its most important feature, overriding other commercial factors like price or logistics.
Under normal market conditions, Tata would source its slabs from the most efficient location, likely its own plants in the Netherlands or India. However, the US proposal changed the rules of the game. It attached a specific, high-value attribute—a “melted and poured in the UK” status—to domestically produced steel. Suddenly, Scunthorpe’s product had a quality that no import could offer.
This “Made in UK” premium was purely regulatory. The steel itself was not different, but its legal status under the proposed tariff regime was. Tata was willing to enter into a deal with a competitor to acquire this premium status for its products, as it was the only way to guarantee access to the 0% US tariff rate.
Although the rule was never enacted, the incident provides a powerful lesson on the value of provenance in a world of increasing trade barriers. It shows how governments can, intentionally or not, create significant commercial advantages for domestically produced goods simply by writing specific rules of origin into trade agreements.
This temporary premium provided a major boost to British Steel, allowing it to leverage its unique position as the UK’s only primary steelmaker. It was a clear demonstration that in the right circumstances, being 100% British-made is not just a marketing slogan, but a tangible and highly valuable commercial asset.