Boris Johnson has suggested that he is willing to break international law to protect the UK steel industry, despite resigning as an ethical adviser because of the government’s willingness.
The Prime Minister said it would be reasonable for British steel to enjoy the same “protection” as other European steel economies, even if it violated its trade obligations.
Sir Gaito, Johnson’s ethical adviser, resigned last week because of the government’s “openness” to violations of international law.
In June last year, the Trade Relief Agency (TRA) recommended that the UK cut tariffs in half because it had no “legal basis” to extend foreign steel and called on the government to respond until the end of this month. ..
The steel industry is “in a difficult time”
At the G7 summit in Germany, Johnson said the UK’s steel industry was “in a difficult time” due to soaring energy prices.
“The UK has systems that don’t give the industry privileges like other countries. They pay a very high price for energy. It needs to be fixed.
“We need to provide British steel with much cheaper energy and cheaper electricity for blast furnaces, but until we can fix that, British steel will be in other Europeans, absolutely all other European steels. I think it makes sense to have the same protection as the economy. ”
Johnson said his ultimate goal was to “eliminate those tariffs” and find “another solution.”
But he said, “Is it possible to do it while staying within the WTO’s obligations of the World Trade Organization? That’s the question, but these are the difficult choices you have to make.” Added.