US Steel Import Tariffs

Lord West of Spithead Excerpts

Thursday 13th February 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Gustafsson (Lab)]

I acknowledge that electricity and power costs within the UK are higher. In my role, as I think about investment, that is something that we need to make sure we understand and grapple with as we support stronger investment in the UK overall. With regard to the steel industry specifically, there are initiatives and schemes for high-intensity energy consumers within the UK that are valuable assets, such as the steel industry, to support them with those energy costs. However, while I acknowledge that that support is specific to the steel industry, wider UK industry as a whole really needs to understand what we can do to grapple with energy costs. On that, significant investment is under way to increase the supply of energy within the UK and the transition into cleaner energy environments. A lot of work and investment have gone into that as part of the green energy transition.

[Lord West of Spithead (Lab)]

My Lords, the steel industry is a strategic asset for the country. The Minister stressed the importance of our link with America, but it is important that the Americans understand that if they are saying that Europe is going to be responsible for its own defence without much American support then the strategic and sovereign capabilities in a number of areas such as steel become even more important. That message needs to be put across.

UK–China Economic and Financial Strategy Dialogue

Lord West of Spithead Excerpts

Tuesday 4th February 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

I completely disagree with the noble Lord’s characterisation of the Chancellor’s visit to China. As I said, we must and will continue to engage with our international partners in trade and investment, and that includes engaging with China. We cannot ignore the fact that China is the second-largest economy worldwide and our fourth-largest trading partner, with exports supporting close to half a million jobs in the UK. We need to help British businesses export around the world, and that includes to China. On human rights and the parliamentary sanctions that the noble Lord talks about, the Chancellor did raise those—absolutely—but she believes that, unless we open that dialogue, we will be unable to raise the concerns that we have.

[Lord West of Spithead (Lab)]

Were there any discussions at all about the Chinese merchant fleet and the use of certain ships by the Russians as the shadow fleet—and also the £7 trillion worth of trade that goes through the South China Sea and is threatened by Chinese actions?

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

Of course, I was not in the room, so I cannot entirely judge exactly whether those issues were raised—but certainly the Chancellor raised important issues of national security. She raised the concerns that the UK Government have about China, and Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine, so the issues that my noble friend raises would have been very much at the forefront of their discussions.