Boris Johnson said he planned to maintain and extend steel tariffs, despite allegations that it could violate Britain’s World Trade Organization rules.
Speaking at the G-7 summit in Germany, the prime minister said he wanted to protect the British steel industry and that the proposed protectionist measures would be in line with what other European countries are doing.
The issue recently became controversial over Johnson’s ethical standards when Lord Hyde cited the proposed tariff policy in a letter announcing his resignation as an independent adviser to the prime minister on ministerial standards.
In what was understood as a reference to a request to approve a tariff policy that would be contrary to international legal obligations, Hyde said he had been placed in an “impossible and disgusting situation” and that he had been asked to sanction a violation. of the Ministerial Code, he will have to leave.
Why Gade was asked to give advice on the WTO’s tariff policy – which had not previously been the subject of an ethics adviser №10 – has never been fully explained.
In response to reports that the government will expand existing tariffs on steel imports from China, supplemented by additional tariffs on imports from countries such as India and Turkey, Johnson said: “It is very important for people to understand the context of this, and this is that the UK steel industry is going through a difficult period, in part because of energy prices.
“In the UK, we have a system in which we do not privilege our industry in the way that some other countries do.
“We need British Steel to be supplied with much cheaper energy and cheaper electricity for its blast furnaces, but until we can fix that, I think it makes sense for British steel to have the same protection that absolutely every other European steelmaker does. economy.
Johnson said he would have a “difficult choice” as to what action to take. “The difficulty is that [helping the industry] Is it possible to do so while remaining within the obligations of the World Trade Organization? That’s the problem, “he said.
While Hyde seems to have doubts about the proposed tariffs on legal grounds, some of Johnson’s colleagues have reportedly been more concerned about policies that undermine free market principles.
A spokesman for the prime minister stressed on Sunday that a final decision has not yet been made.
“We consult with foreign colleagues about our proposals before making a final decision before the deadline. This will be done soon and will balance our international obligations and the national interest, “the spokesman said.
They said the collapse of the steel industry would have a “wider impact on the capacity and security of the United Kingdom”.
Shadow Foreign Secretary David Lamy told the BBC’s Sunday Morning program that, as he understood it, the government planned to expand protection for local steel, which is also in force in the US and the EU, and that Labor also supported it.
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