Britain pursues EU, US steel alliance to counter China
The United Kingdom has been making efforts to form an alliance with the European Union states and potentially the United States to curb China's dominance in the global steel market, according to a report by Politico.
London says the new steel alliance would align duty policies and grant members preferential tariffs on steel trade, the Sunday report said, citing anonymous sources familiar with the matter.
Britons hope that forming the alliance would help the UK dodge new 50 percent tariffs Brussels aims to impose on non-member states.
The UK Government’s “focus must be on securing essential UK carve-outs in the EU’s quotas, and tightening its own trade defenses,” said UK Steel Director Gareth Stace.
Post-Brexit Britain finds itself at the mercy of EU trade actions dictated by officials in Brussels.
British steel mills currently send half of their steel exports to the EU, making the bloc’s upcoming tariffs a serious threat to the UK's manufacturers.
A senior Brussels official noted earlier this month that Europe was “in deep trouble because of this problem of overcapacities” in steel production, and the EU had “no other choice” but to defend its industry against rivals.
The EU official said that despite the limitations imposed on EU steel producers, Brussels was still open to negotiations.
Another EU official told Politico that the idea of forming a steel “club” is not a new concept and had been around for “quite some time.” The official noted that presently the idea looks “more appealing” than it did before.
The officials pointed out that Brussels and London are already cooperating in multilateral forums such as the Global Forum on Steel Excess Capacity.
In addition, Brussels and London have already agreed to align their upcoming carbon taxes on imports of steel and other products produced through highly polluting manufacturing processes.
“We are continuing our engagement with the EU following their recent announcement. We are also working with international partners on solutions which can address wider overcapacity,” a UK Government spokesperson said
The Trump administration has also called on its Western allies to get together to counter China's dominance in the international steel market.
Earlier this month, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer stressed the importance of forging stronger cooperation against Chinese steel.
He warned that the “current international trade rules are inadequate.” However, the US negotiator also questioned “the political will of foreign members to take action” in this regard.
To ease the pressure from the US-led efforts to curb China, Beijing has imposed restrictions on its exports of essential products needed in the global supply chain and dominated by Chinese manufacturers.
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