This week the member Spotlight turns to Katarzyna Ziolkowska-Smith, trade compliance manager at Arconic Manufacturing in Kitts Green, the UK’s only hot rolling mill, which produces aluminium alloy and lithium products (mainly) for the aerospace, construction and automotive sectors
Having begun her trade career in the steel sector, she’s seen first-hand how the rapidly changing global landscape for metal manufacturing has continued to create challenges for those producing the key metals; from increasing tariffs, developing export controls to new sustainability regulations.
She discussed those challenges with Global Trade Today, alongside how completing a Chartered Institute diploma in World Customs Compliance & Regulations has enabled her to better support her firm’s reputation and bottom line.
Trade ‘driving the business’
Ziolkowska-Smith says that she sees her role in compliance as more than just operational, and that “trade has always meant support in driving and sustaining international business” and preserving its bottom line.
There’s the obvious savings that come with sparing a company from fines for non-compliance. She says the ‘Notices to Exporters’, shared by HMRC, that detail penalties for export control breaches are a good reminder of the need to stay vigilant.
This is one of her first considerations when it comes to compliance because “export controls and sanctions are expanding very rapidly and changing every single day”.
Beyond avoiding fines, there’s also ways she can drive efficiency as a customs professional, such as through customs special procedures and effectively utilising the benefits of free trade agreements.
A firm grasp of these concepts was instilled through the Chartered Institute’s Level 5 Diploma in World Customs Compliance & Regulations, she says.
“It gave me the tools and the customs know-how – the universal global perspective – that I could translate and apply to the business.
She says it helped her feel “more comfortable” taking customs decisions, especially coming from a mixed sales and customs background, knowing “sales are growing, compliance is maintained, and the bottom line is covered”.
US tariff challenges
Taking customs decisions has certainly become more complex in recent years. One of the most prominent examples of this are the sector-specific US tariffs on steel and aluminium imports. Introduced via Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act 1962 for security purposes, these rates aren’t impacted by the successful legal challenges brought against the Trump administration’s ‘reciprocal regime’.
Recent changes to these tariffs’ implementation made by the White House, making the rates applicable to the full customs value of the imported product rather than just its metal content, have also upped the price of steel and aluminium imports.
UK-origin steel and aluminium can access the US market at a lower tariff rate than other countries. However, the US has also introduced tighter origin requirements that must be met. To qualify, aluminium products must contain aluminium that was smelted or most recently cast in the UK. For steel products, steel content must have been melted and poured in the UK.
From her perspective, Ziolkowska said it feels like “US rules of origin are evolving, with greater scrutiny on input materials.”
Exporters and importers will have to navigate the new requirements and the potential impacts, as US customers determine how to allocate the cost of any extra duty and handle the customs requirements.
CBAM uncertainty
Like many within the sector, Ziolkowska also expressed concerns about what the UK and EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) policies will mean for metals, particularly their divergent implementation timelines.
“We need to make sure that we’re prepared for the UK deadline January 1, 2027, and at the same time, EU customers are provided with the reporting data they need [to comply with EU CBAM],” she explained.
The EU’s CBAM has already entered into force, with the ‘definitive’ stage beginning this year. The first certificate prices were made available in April, with EU importers now expected to calculate their emissions to begin paying next year.
Ziolkowska-Smith has been already working with relevant stakeholders, reaching out to their own suppliers, to both share data with their EU customers and prepare for UK reporting.
She says that the response rate is “mixed.”
“Some of them are happy to provide the data and some of them just wouldn’t be able to.” The absence of verified data from suppliers would force EU importers to use the default values and potentially pay for more emissions than are actually being used to produce aluminium products.
Despite this, she still has what she describes as “bottom line data,” that she’s working towards collecting, so that “all the data and traceability is there for the business to be CBAM-compliant and provide our customers with verified data.”
Protection for aluminium
Reflecting on greater global competition for steel and aluminium, and government interventions to support them, Ziolkowska notes the recent government decision to nationalise British Steel and changes to reduce steel quotas.
While she welcomes the government doing more to protect UK manufacturing, she says there are risks associated with making it more expensive to import steel.
“It will be interesting to see how that plays in the long run,” she says, because “not all steel grades widely used across UK industry are manufactured by British Steel”
Extra duties may strain the finances of small businesses manufacturing goods for use in the automotive or aerospace sectors, she warns, leaving them paying more for imported components they can’t source domestically. Nonetheless, she recognises that policy barriers for unfairly low-priced imports can help level the playing field for domestic producers in key sectors.
Now working at aluminium manufacturer Arconic, she says she’ll be keeping an eye out for comparable measures that could support the business, especially now when aluminium has been recognised by the UK government as a strategic growth and critical mineral.
While steel has traditionally been prioritized when governments develop industrial policy, the UK aluminium sector is promoting the importance of the sector to national ambitions in green energy, aerospace, and defence.
Aluminium ‘major supporter’ of UK industry
In terms of her own efforts to mitigate challenges, she says Arconic have already implemented “scrap retention”, the practice of recycling scrap aluminium for production rather than making more, in order to keep emissions low.
While she appreciates the environmental impetus behind policies like CBAM, she says the impact on key UK industries could be profound.
When you tax manufacturing “the cost of manufacturing is in jeopardy – we might not be competitive in the global marketplace.”
In addition to the national security concerns this raises, Ziolkowska-Smith also notes the threat to jobs and other UK sectors, if UK aluminium manufacturing is unable to compete.
“The manufacturing of aluminium is very much here and it supports the economy.
“It shouldn’t be forgotten, it should be maintained and cherished as a major supporter of UK industry, especially as a supplier to aerospace.”
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