The trade association UK Steel’s director general Gareth Stace has commented on the UK government’s rejection of the motion to extend the country’s steel safeguards, stating that the safeguard cuts will damage the sector by £100 million and threaten 2,500 jobs, as a result of increased imports and subsequent reduced market share and profitability for UK producers.
“This week, the government voted to reject emergency legislation that would have given our steelmakers the same protections just extended to their EU competitors. The Trade Remedies Authority’s initial decision to terminate steel safeguards for nine out of 19 product categories left the sector exposed to uncontrolled surges in imports,” Gareth Stace, said. He added that huge diversions of products into the UK are practically guaranteed with the extension of the EU’s safeguard measures for three years.
“Such a knock to profits would likely see a mixture of job losses as well as sharp contractions to capital investment made in the sector in future years, jeopardizing the sector’s ability to innovate, modernize and decarbonize,” UK Steel commented.
Meanwhile, the EU and the US are moving swiftly towards an agreement to exempt the EU from Section 232 tariffs, with a UK exemption nowhere in sight. According to UK Steel, the government must urgently intervene to support the sector and ensure the right decision is made or else the UK steel industry will be competing in an unfair trading environment facing barriers to export.