Protecting Britain’s Steel Industry

Liz Twist Excerpts

Monday 21st June 2021 Commons Chamber

[Liz Twist (Blaydon) (Lab)]

Steel, as we have heard from so many speakers, is absolutely vital to the UK, and it is good to see that British steel provides 70% of the UK’s annual requirements and is particularly important in a whole range of things. Like other hon. Members, I have manufacturers in my constituency that rely on steel and on the supply of steel, but today I want to touch on the issue of the Trade Remedies Authority.

As we have heard, back in 2017 Labour pointed out the need for a body to regulate trade. However, the current body is not the most suitable one for our steel industry. We warned against the Government creating a Trade Remedies Authority that was unfit for purpose. They did not listen to those warnings, and we are now sadly seeing the consequences of that failure to listen unfold. A Trade Remedies Authority made up of economists and backed by incomplete HMRC data will never be enough to reflect the true complexities and nuances of the steel industry. A Trade Remedies Authority devoid of union input will never be able to truly reflect workers’ voices, with their practical experience of the sector and understanding of British steel. A Trade Remedies Authority without actual industry representatives, such as those working with steel in the UK, will never truly understand the consequences of its decisions or the impact on local communities such as mine.

The TRA as it stands lacks the ideas and experience necessary to tackle the issues that the steel industry faces. That means that it is making skewed recommendations that will drive a race to the bottom, with dangerous consequences for our industry. Its powers of investigation are too narrowly focused. Recommendations on sectors such as steel need to consider the impact on employment, communities, critical national infrastructure and defence procurement. Crucially, they need to understand that what we do in one part of the industry affects the whole. Instead, we have a narrow and blinkered assessment of pricing, supply and demand in individual product categories, with no sense of the wider picture.

This kind of outcome was entirely predictable and avoidable, but fortunately it is not too late. The motion before us allows for emergency action to reject these flawed, narrow recommendations and save our steel industry from the consequences. But even more than that, I hope it will allow the Government to reflect on their approach to the TRA. They must listen to British steel makers and work with Labour to establish a revised trade remedies process, accepting that its remit needs to change.