Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with (a) the Scottish Government and (b) representatives of industry in Scotland on protecting the Scottish steel sector from forthcoming increases in US tariffs.

We are in constant contact with the steel industry on this issue, indeed Minsters from the Department of Business Energy & Industrial Strategy, together with Ministers from the Department for International Trade last met the steel companies impacted on 5 June. We have also convened a Steel Council meeting on 18 June to discuss this further and the Scottish Government has been invited to attend.

Ministers are in regular contact with the Scottish Government on a range of issues and my rt. Hon Friend the Minister of State for International Trade has spoken and written to Keith Brown MSP, Cabinet Secretary for the Economy, Jobs and Fair Work since tariffs were put in place on 1 June on this important issue. Alongside this, BEIS and DIT officials have been in regular contact with officials from the Welsh and Scottish Governments to ensure that they have been kept fully abreast of these developments over the last year.