May vows action on steel ‘dumping’ in talks at G20
THREATS to the steel industry in Wales and across Europe were yesterday discussed at the G20 gathering of world leaders where actions by both China and the United States are a source of concern.
The “dumping” of the cheap Chinese steel is seen as major challenge to the viability of steelmakers on both sides of the Atlantic – but there is also alarm about tariffs President Trump could attempt to introduce to protect the industry in America.
Prime Minister Theresa May told China’s president Xi Jinping during a 30-minute meeting at the G20 summit in Hamburg that she wanted to see “more activity” to stem the overcapacity that has wreaked havoc on world markets and the UK’s steel industry.
Mr Xi told the Prime Minister all countries must take “concerted action” to deal with over-production, a UK government official said.
Mrs May also raised the failure to deal with steel dumping at a meeting with all G20 leaders last night, saying the group had failed to deliver on previous pledges to take action.
She said: “I believe that not only do we have to talk the language of free and fair trade, we have to act on it to. So, I hope we can hold a global forum on steel capacity at ministerial level before the end of the year.”
However, Aberavon MP Stephen Kinnock MP, who has been a highprofile campaigner in the fight to
secure the future of the Port Talbot steelworks, urged Mrs May to match her words with action.
He said: “Time and time again the Tories blocked changes that would have allowed us to place meaningful tariffs on illegally dumped Chinese steel.
“Instead of standing up to the Chinese, the Government had rolled the red carpet out to Beijing at every opportunity, while ignoring the needs of steelworkers.
“They haven’t even bothered to respond to the cross-party Steel 2020 report that we published six months ago, which included detailed recommendations for tackling illegal Chinese dumping and the kind of trade defence measures we need after Brexit.”
He added: “If reports are correct and the Prime Minister [has actually raised] the issue of dumping with the Chinese then it is a start, but their words will be meaningless unless we see them followed up with concrete action to punish and prevent illegal steel dumping by Beijing.”
Meanwhile, it is understood the EU could clamp down on US bourbon whiskey if the Trump administration uses a law dating back to the Cold War to limit steel imports under the pretence of national security.
Action against bourbon would carry extra political bite as US Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell comes from Kentucky, a centre of the whiskey industry.
President Donald Trump is frustrated about South Korean steel exports. He said last week he had called on the country to “stop enabling the export of dumped steel”.
The United States already has 28 anti-subsidy tariffs on steel from China and a new move to limit imports outside the structures of the World Trade Organisation would rile the EU.
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said: “[We] are in an elevated battle mood.”
Carmarthen East and Dinefwr Plaid Cymru AM Adam Price said: “The signs are very clear that the Trump administration is breaking with 40-50 years maybe of American policy with regards to global trade. That could tip into a 1930s-style wave of tit-for-tat protectionism. That wouldn’t be good news for the UK or the Welsh steel industry. Certainly, that’s absolutely true – particularly at a time when pro-Brexit voices have been hoping there would be an opening up of other global markets as a result of Brexit... It may be the opposite that is the case.”
In the “very constructive” meeting, Mr Xi hailed the “golden era” of relations between China and the UK and said an increase in investment from his nation since the Brexit vote showed its confidence in Britain.
The G20 summit comes at a time of heightened concern about the North Korea’s nuclear ambitions.
Mrs May called on Mr Xi to use China’s influence to put “pressure” on Pyongyang to stop its missile testing programme following North Korea’s test-firing of an inter-continental ballistic missile.
She also called for reforms to the World Trade Organisation to speed up its system of dealing with disputes, warning fellow G20 leaders the lengthy process was putting healthy companies out of business.
Meanwhile, President Trump opened his first meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin by raising US concerns about Moscow’s meddling in the 2016 presidential election, US secretary of state Rex Tillerson said.
He said Mr Putin denied being involved.
Mr Trump’s decision to confront Mr Putin directly over election interference fulfilled ardent demands by US politicians of both parties that the president not shy away from the issue in his
highly anticipated meeting with Mr Putin.
Mr Trump has avoided stating unequivocally in the past that Russia interfered, even as investigations proceed into whether Mr Trump’s campaign colluded with Russians who sought to help him win.
Mr Putin’s denial of culpability notwithstanding, he and Mr Trump agreed that the issue has become a hindrance to better relations between the two powers, said Mr Tillerson, who attended the morethan-two-hour meeting along with Russia’s foreign minister.
Mr Tillerson said the discussion about the election meddling was “robust and lengthy”.
Mr Trump claimed there are “very positive things” in store for the US and Russia as he sat down with Mr Putin for the historic first meeting.
Seated next to the Russian president, Mr Trump said it was “an honour” to be with Mr Putin.
As journalists were briefly allowed in to witness part of this meeting, the US president said he and Mr Putin had already held “very, very good talks”.
“We look forward to a lot of very positive things happening for Russia and the United States,” Mr Trump said.
He offered no details about what issues he and the Russian leader had discussed, describing them only as “various things”.
Mr Putin was similarly vague, telling reporters through a translator that they were discussing international problems and bilateral issues.
But he described the fact they were meeting as a positive sign in itself.
“Phone conversation is never enough,” Mr Putin said, adding that he hoped the meeting would “yield positive results”.
It came as anti-globalisation activists clashed with police across the German port city of Hamburg, leaving scores of officers injured.
Responding to a second day of protests as world leaders attended the G20 summit, police ordered in more than 900 additional officers from across the country.
More than 160 police officers were injured, dozens of activists had to be taken to hospital and more than 70 protesters were detained.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel condemned the violent protests as “unacceptable”.
“I have every understanding for peaceful demonstrations,” Mrs Merkel said. “But violent demonstrations endanger human lives, they endanger people themselves, they put police officers and security forces in danger, put residents in danger, and so that is unacceptable.”
WHEN she called the snap election, Theresa May might have imagined rolling up at the next G20 summit of world leaders cloaked in the glory of an electoral landslide.
Senior politicians are experts at making instant assessments of power and influence, and Mrs May’s counterparts will recognise the predicament she now faces as the leader of a minority government that faces the challenge of negotiating Brexit ahead of our March 2019 departure date.
Other world leaders know that our economic future depends on our ability to establish beneficial trading relationships with their countries. We lack the economic power of China, the military clout of the United States and the diplomatic prestige of Germany – but the G20 summit is nonetheless an important opportunity to make progress on a range of vital issues.
A key challenge is securing the future of the UK’s steel industry, of which Tata’s Port Talbot plant is a crucial fixture. For years, the industry, unions and politicians have warned of the devastating consequences of cheap Chinese exports that have flooded the market in a practice known as “dumping”.
Such market-distortion must be tackled. A single conversation between Mrs May and the Chinese premier is unlikely to deliver a breakthrough but Britain can help forge an international consensus about how best to ensure domestic steel industries are not decimated.
This is a subject of great concern in Wales across the party spectrum and our AMs and MPs should not rest until our steelworkers know their jobs are safe.
If there is a failure to reach agreement at international level there is the threat President Trump will take unilateral action. The EU is preparing to retaliate if he engages in crowd-pleasing populism by making it harder to sell into the giant US market.
Championing a national industry and defending it against acts of economic aggression is very different from embracing old-style economic protectionism. We can only hope that in private meetings Mr Trump is steered away from any action which would put workers in other countries out of their jobs and do nothing to help America in the long run.
He has already riled counterparts with the pledge to take the US out of the Paris climate change agreement. The President knows his grass-roots supporters will be delighted if his “America First” policy results in him being condemned by angry Europeans, but it is deeply irresponsible to take such a short-sighted approach on climate change in the search for a bounce in the polls.
By turning his back on science and a real threat to the environment, Trump is doing nothing to help the US prepare for the challenges which will define the coming decades; he would do well to spend at least as much time thinking about his place in history than how he is doing on Twitter.
We need responsibility at the highest level and we have to hope Mrs May demands this responsibility at – and from – the highest levels. The Western Mail newspaper is published by Media Wales a subsidiary company of Trinity Mirror PLC, which is a member of IPSO, the Independent Press Standards Organisation. The entire contents of The Western Mail are the copyright of Media Wales Ltd. It is an offence to copy any of its contents in any way without the company’s permission. If you require a licence to copy parts of it in any way or form, write to the Head of Finance at Six Park Street. The recycled paper content of UK newspapers in 2014 was 78.5%