LONDON (Reuters) – Britain will publish a green paper for the country’s steel industry on Sunday weeks ahead of schedule due to President Donald Trump’s announcement of fresh tariffs on all steel imports into the U.S., the Observer newspaper reported on Saturday.
“The context, both at home and abroad, is behind the sense of urgency that we are demonstrating by bringing forward publication of the strategy,” business minister Jonathan Reynolds told the Observer.
The business department did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
The Labour government previously said it wanted to invest 2.5 billion pounds ($3.15 billion) in the steel industry and it would publish a strategy on its plans to boost the sector in the spring.
Reynolds said on Thursday Britain would seek to persuade the U.S. government that its steel and aluminium products should avoid tariffs due to the sensitive role they play in the U.S. defence sector and its manufacturing supply chains.
The Observer said Reynolds would publish a green paper entitled ‘Plan for Steel’ on Sunday. It will look into issues facing the industry, such as high energy costs and international turmoil.
Trump said on Sunday he would introduce new 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminium imports into the U.S., on top of existing metals duties. He said earlier in February, when talking about tariffs in general, that he thought something could be “worked out” with Britain.
Britain and the United States trade hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of goods and services annually. Industry body UK Steel warned the tariffs could be “devastating” as the U.S. is the second largest export market for UK steel, worth over 400 million pounds a year.
($1 = 0.7946 pounds)
(Reporting by Catarina Demony; Editing by Alistair Bell)
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