Wales minister calls for tougher steel trade defenses

LIVERPOOL, England — Wales Secretary Stephen Kinnock is pushing for tougher steel trade defenses amid concerns that British producers are being undercut by cheap imports.

Speaking at The POLITICO Pub at Labour Party conference on Monday, Kinnock said he is in discussions with Trade Minister Anas Sarwar about strengthening protections for the steel industry, arguing that the government needs to act to ensure domestic producers are competing on a level playing field.

His comments came after Tata Steel’s Llanwern plant in Newport, South Wales, saw its production capacity slashed to around 50% as it struggles to compete against a glut of cheaper, foreign galvanized steel imports.

Asked whether he is satisfied with the current position on steel tariffs and quotas, and whether the government should reconsider its approach before the measures are reviewed next July, Kinnock said: “I am not at all happy with the position on quotas and tariffs. There is clear evidence that the British steel industry is being undercut.”

In July this year, under Keir Starmer’s administration, the U.K. implemented a new steel trade measure, replacing the expiring EU-era safeguard regime with a 51% reduction in overall tariff-free quota volumes compared to previous levels.

But Kinnock complained that some of the original measures were “diluted,” resulting in plants like Llanwern being undercut by imports of galvanized steel from places like Vietnam, Turkey, and South Korea.

“We absolutely have to do something about that,” he said. “That is one of my top priorities as the Secretary of State for Wales.”

Kinnock added that he is liaising closely with Sarwar on the issue, adding that an independent auditor is also assessing the damage caused by potential dumping.

“I’m confident that we will get a result from that, which will enable us to have a more robust trade defense regime,” he said.

Asked about a timeline for the investigation, he said: “We want it to be very rapid, and the trade remedies agency is is ready to act. It just needs the data. The data is being collected now. I am pushing as hard as I possibly can to have some movement on this before Christmas.”

Responding to reports from Sky News that the Indian owner of Port Talbot has approached Whitehall for an additional multi-million support package amid delays to its new electric arc furnace, Kinnock confirmed that he would give “careful consideration to any proposal that they might have for financial support.”

The sum would be in addition to the £500 million government grant awarded to Tata Steel in 2023 to build the furnace.