PM: Give UK steel same protections as in Europe
BRITISH steel firms should get the “same protections” as EU rivals, Boris Johnson said yesterday as he prepared to breach World Trade Organisation rules.
The Government is poised to slap sweeping tariffs on a host of nations to bolster the UK sector.
Ministers are expected to extend for two years measures to block cheap imports to the UK.
The PM signalled that shipments from more countries could be hit.
He told the G7 summit in Bavaria: “It is reasonable for UK steel to have the same protections absolutely every other European steel economy does.”
Plans to maintain quotas and tariffs on some imports – which critics claim breach WTO rules – contributed to Mr Johnson’s ethics adviser Lord Geidt quitting this month.
Rejecting calls to axe the tariffs, the PM said: “These are tough choices that you have to make.”
The PM’s spokesman said: “We will balance our international obligations and the national interest.”
Labour urged the Government to “secure” the steel sector.