Although Cameron said all options were open, he appeared to reject the idea of taking the steel industry into public hands. As he put it:
“We are not ruling anything out. I don’t believe nationalisation is the right answer, what we want to do is secure a long-term future for Port Talbot and for other steel plants in the UK.”
Shadow chancellor John McDonnell is pushing a four-part plan, which would begin with the temporary nationalisation of the industry to protect tens of thousands of jobs. McDonnell also wants the procurement rules shaken up, so that more British steel is used for infrastructure
And business secretary Sajid Javid is yet to return to the UK from Australia, having ended his trip early on Wednesday. He’s hoping to be in Port Talbot on Friday.....
Jeremy Corbyn has criticised David Cameron for failing to achieve more at his emergency meeting on the steel crisis.
Rather than simply talking, the PM should be taking measures right now to stability the sector, argues the Labour leader (who scraped his own holiday yesterday to visit Port Talbot)
“The Prime Minister has offered no solutions today to the threat to our steel industry. His government is failing thousands of Tata steelworkers whose jobs are on the line.
It’s not good enough for David Cameron to stand by and say the situation is difficult. He should listen to over 100,000 people who’ve already signed the petition calling for parliament to be recalled to debate this crisis.
He must act now to protect the heart of manufacturing industry and take a public stake in steel.”
Kinnock: UK has been Beijing’s chief cheerleaders in Europe
Labour MP Stephen Kinnock has hit out at Brexit campaigners who blame Europe for the steel crisis.
Kinnock, whose constituency includes the Port Talbot steel works, says David Cameron is at fault for championing China’s interests, not those of British steel workers.
Writing for the Guardian, he says:
The reality is that the European commission has been trying to tackle the steel crisis for years now, but has consistently been hamstrung by a British government fighting tooth and nail to undermine those efforts.
The government is not only actively working against the commission’s attempts to toughen up its anti-dumping measures, where it has been the ringleader of a backroom campaign against trade defence reform, it is also lobbying hard for China to be granted market economy status (MES). MES would mean the World Trade Organisation would consider China to be a market economy, and we would therefore be unable to impose effective tariffs on dumped steel from the 80%-state-owned Chinese steel industry.
Ever since 2010 when the prime minister declared he would “make the case for China to get market economy status”, he and George Osborne have been Beijing’s chief cheerleaders in Europe. Cameron and Osborne know that the granting of MES would dramatically reduce the European commission’s ability to impose tariffs on dumped Chinese steel.
These are not party-political points. These are the views of the steel industry itself. It has repeatedly urged the government to act, and to stop promoting China’s cause in Europe.
A spokeswoman at the European Commission has said contacts with the British government on the future of Port Talbot were ongoing.
The commission is ready to give targeted advice to the sector and member states to make sure that state aid and EU funding possibilities are fully exploited and that any measures comply with EU law.”
“While the details of any possible measures are still under discussion in the UK, we are not in a position to provide further comment until the UK Government has taken a decision on the issue.”
Europe’s state aid rules could prevent the UK from funding a large rescue package.
Back in January, the Commission declared that member states cannot use taxpayers’ funds for “the rescue and restructuring of companies in difficulty in the steel sector”.
Telegraph: Business secretary took daughter to Australia
The Daily Telegraph are reporting that business secretary Sajid Javid took his teenage daughter on his aborted trip to Australia.
They say:
The Telegraph has learned that he took his teenage daughter with him on the controversial trip and was planning to extend his visit by several days so he could go on a holiday with her. Mr Javid paid for his daughter’s flight himself.
A spokesman for Mr Javid said: “We can confirm that Mr Javid’s daughter accompanied him on his visit to Australia. There was no cost to the taxpayer.”
I’m pretty sure this wouldn’t breach any government rules. However, it could prove awkward for Javid as he tries to explains a) why he left the UK while Tata was making such a crucial decision, and b) why he didn’t return sooner.
Rating agency Moody’s has just declared that Tata will be a little financially stronger once it has shed its UK steelworks, but not enough to move its credit rating.
“Tata Steel Limited’s planned restructuring of its UK businesses is credit positive as it reduces some of the negative pressure on the company’s operating performance, however it won’t move Tata Steel’s Ba3 rating.”
With its massive steel industry, and slowing economy, China is at the heart of the crisis facing British steel.
So it’s worrying to hear one of China’s top producers warn that a new Ice Age is gripping the sector.
Angang Steel Co said that a ‘deep winter’ had arrived, after posting a net loss of almost 4.6bn yuan (or £500m) today.
“In 2015, China experienced a slowdown in economic growth and excess steel capacity, which caused the domestic and overseas steel industry to enter into an ‘Ice Age’”.
That slowdown in the Chinese economy has encouraged producers to ship excess steel overseas – particularly to countries like Britain where trade tariffs are low.
And more could be heading our way. China’s largest producer, Baosteel, has revealed it will boost output by 20% this year.
Steel has a vital part in the history of Sheffield.
And Professor Sir Keith Burnett, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Sheffield, argues that the UK government needs to give the industry proper protection.
Professor Burnett says:
“Steel is a core aspect of what we make and how we make it. It generates jobs, and it generates long term national security. Are you always going to buy your systems from elsewhere? No, you need steel.”
He also argues that industrial policy must embrace the “national purpose”, as well as competing with other countries.
“We’re interacting with countries like China that have a strong national purpose and we must maintain ours. Steel is a test for Europe. If you make competition the only touchstone then you let down your citizens and long-term economic stability.
The situation at Port Talbot is of deep concern. I know how important those jobs are - those jobs are vital to workers’ families, vital to those communities.
The government will do everything it can, working with the company, to try and secure the future of steel-making in Port Talbot and across our country. It’s a vital industry.
Q: Are you ruling out nationalisation in the long-term?
Cameron replies that the government is “not ruling anything out”, before immediately adding that “I won’t believe nationalisation is the right answer” (which hardly rules it in).
Q: In the short-term, are you going to push the European Union on tariffs, as it appears Britain has blocked tariffs that could have prevented steel dumping?
I have had “teams of ministers working for months to help this industry”, to ensure we procure steel for our ships and other vital industries, Cameron declares.
We’ve cut energy costs of British steel, and with others in Europe we have made sure there are proper penalties for those who dump steel.
But this industry is in difficulty right across the world. There’s been a collapse in prices, and massive over-capacity. We had been concerned Port Talbot could have closed outright, which is why we worked very hard with the company to ensure there will be a proper sales process.
But Cameron then warned:
This is a difficult situation. There’s no guarantee of success.
Q: Why has the government been behind the curve on this issue?
Cameron repeats his line about ‘teams of ministers’ working on the issue, which has ensured there will be a sales process rather than outright closure.
And the prime minister also argues that the steel crisis is a reason to remain in Europe, rather than leave.
It is “vital” that European markets are open to us, rather than UK steelmakers facing tariffs of their own.
And he concludes by warning that this is “a difficult situation. There can be no guarantee of success given the problems the steel industry faces worldwide”.
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