May has to show steel in tariff talks with Trump
PRIME Minister Theresa May aims to show her steel in the battle over US tariffs when she comes face to face with US President Donald Trump at the G7 summit.
Mrs May will be pressuring Mr Trump in a bid to reverse tariffs during the summit in Canada on European steel and aluminium, according to Secretary of State for International Trade Liam Fox.
The US leader sparked widespread anger through his plans to levy 25% and 10% tariffs respectively on the metal imports.
Stephen Kinnock, MP for Aberavon, said the summit was a key opportunity, but accused Mrs May of crying “crocodile tears for the British steel industry” and failing to tackle Chinese steel dumping, which has also put the Port Talbot plant at risk.
Mr Kinnock said: “The G7 summit offers an excellent opportunity to knock heads together.
“Trump must be told in no uncertain terms that his blunderbuss approach risks the destruction of the rules-based global trading system that has existed since the War.
“But it is just as important to ensure that China is not let off the hook.
“Eighty per cent of China’s steel industry is state-owned, so Chinese steel plants are subsidised to the hilt, and they have been dumping their steel on the global market for years.
“Since 2010 the UK government has consistently blocked EU attempts to strengthen its anti-dumping measures.
“David Cameron and Theresa May have cried crocodile tears for the British steel industry, whilst rolling out the red carpet for Beijing and allowing China to dump its steel with impunity.
“This G7 summit will therefore be a litmus test of Theresa May’s ability to protect the tens of thousands of steel and steel-related jobs in Port Talbot, Wales and across the length and breadth of the UK, that are now hanging in the balance.
“She must go to Canada with a clear plan: first, show President Trump how his tariffs are utterly self-defeating, as they’ll lead directly to the loss of hundreds of thousands of American jobs, and second she must make it clear to President Xi that the underhand and unfair practices of his steel industry are the root cause of the problem.”
Meanwhile, Bethan Sayed, AM for South Wales West, who is also Plaid Cymru’s shadow cabinet spokeswoman for steel, said she was concerned Mrs May was not in the position to be able to fight back as she feared her strategy over the handling of Brexit had isolated the UK.
She said: “Theresa May is in a weak position. Her handling of Brexit has isolated her from the EU right at the time when we need partners the most.
“Its very clear we need an open trade and industry policy which seeks partners in the world, rather than to isolate ourselves.”
She added: “These tariffs will have a potentially big impact on the steel industry in Wales.
“Ten per cent of Tata Steel Europe’s exports go to the US and as a result of these tariffs industry hubs such as Port Talbot will surely suffer.
“American steel unions, including the Coalition of American Metal Manufacturers and Users, have also strongly condemned the tariffs.
“The weak-willed response from the UK Government is simply not good enough and does not bode well for the supposed ‘special relationship’ and beneficial trade deals that have been promoted between the UK and the US post-Brexit.
“I want to know what action the UK Government is taking to ensure that the steel industry in Wales is sustained and developed and that action is taken at once to combat the impact of these tariffs.
“Our workers deserve nothing less.” The policy first came into force on Friday and means anyone in the US importing the metals from the EU will have to pay extra tax.
Mr Trump said the move was designed to protect US national security but Prime Minister Mrs May has branded the move as “unjustified” and says she is “disappointed”.
Former Port Talbot steelworker Tony Taylor said he believed Britain needed to follow suit and put its steel industry first.
Mr Taylor said: “I have got a bit of sympathy with Trump – isn’t it time they put our industry first?
“They always come to us as we are the best – we have to protect our industry, we are going to have to put tariffs on there or we can talk to them and negotiate if we are going to be doing trade deals with the Americans in the future.
“Let’s look at buying our own products and showing loyalty to your own workforce.”
Steel from Port Talbot is largely ploughed into US tanks, white goods products and automotive vehicles.
Mr Taylor added: “If it closed we are talking about the loss of 15,000 jobs. We cannot afford to lose highly skilled jobs.”
Mr Fox said the EU counter-actions had been proportionate so far and cautioned against measures which could spark a full-blown trade war.
He made clear Britain was still seeking tariff exemptions.