Category 4 Steel Imports: Tariff-free Quotas
Debate between Lord Alton of Liverpool and Lord Leong(1 week, 4 days ago)
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Lord Leong (Lab)
I thank the noble Lord for the questions. I think I responded to the noble Lord on Monday on a particular Urgent Question on steel and addressed the tariff issue. However, I will address his point about imports. We have carried out a programme of extensive engagement with industry, as well as negotiations with the EU ahead of its own steel measure coming into effect. Some 74% of all imports by volume fall outside the scope of this measure and will not be subject to any tariffs. For other products, tariffs will only be due once quotas have been exhausted. We will continue to hear from businesses and closely monitor the impact of this measure. We will also review it after 12 months to ensure it remains effective and that the balance is right for both producers and downstream users.
Lord Alton of Liverpool (CB)
My Lords, I welcome what the Government did in protecting the steel industry in this country, but do we not need to do a lot more to develop our resilience and reduce our dependence? Was the danger here not of Chinese domination of the industry? The Government were right to act. In that context, will the Minister say what compensation has been paid to the Chinese regime? On the point made by the noble Lord, Lord Hunt, about learning things from the media, was the Times accurate when it reported that China had offered debt relief in return for a green light for its proposed mega-embassy in London?
Lord Leong (Lab)
I will first address the issue on British Steel, which I am sure is what the noble Lord is referring to. We took British Steel into public ownership immediately after we passed the Steel Industry (Nationalisation) Act. As it stands, under the Act, we will appoint an independent valuer to assess the compensation, if any, that is due. As far as we know, it is zero compensation and that is where it stands. As for his question on the Chinese embassy, I am not aware of that, but I will find out and write to him.