Liberty Speciality Steels, Aldwarke: its future is shaky enough – now it faces tariffs. Photo Workers.
The EU has announced steel tariffs of up to 50 per cent on steel imports, including those from Britain. This is in line with its aggressive policy of trying to rope Britain back into its orbit.
Starmer talks about a “reset” with the EU and there is both an EU delegation to the UK and a UK mission to the EU. But that is proving no help to our steel industry.
This may be an EU tactic to demand more concessions from Starmer – particularly on the youth mobility scheme allowing an unlimited number of younger Europeans to travel to Britain for four years.
A senior EU official said that talks on exempting Britain from steel tariffs would provide a “powerful incentive” for the government to offer further concessions, adding: “We also would like to have an agreement with them.” But the EU delegation to the UK claimed that there was “no link whatsoever” between the steel tariffs and talks on youth mobility.
Whatever the reasons for the tariffs, they pose a significant risk to the future of British steelmaking, a key British industry. Trade unions have called on the government to act with a strategic approach to the domestic industry. Around 1.9 million of the 4 million tons of steel Britain manufactures annually goes to the EU, about 80 per cent of our steel exports. By comparison the US, also threatening tariffs, imports just 200,000 tons of British steel.
Over half of the steel produced in Britain is exported. Why there is not more demand for British steel to be used within Britain isn’t a mystery. Private companies have been allowed to import cheaper steel from abroad and successive governments have made no effective moves to give preference to steel made in Britain.
At the Labour Party conference in October, the chancellor Rachel Reeves announced a shift in policy. Now major public contracts must favour British-made steel and British-built ships. Unite and other unions have long been calling for such measures.
The test will be whether government’s new-found support for the steel industry survives its desire to appease the EU.