Steel is part of the absolute basic needs of manufacturing. If we allow this to go, having already lost a lot of the other essential manufacturing and services, then we will start to find it impossible to rebuild our manufacturing base and will simply go backwards. But then steel is not the banking industry
Facts – one of the most expensive costs in steel is power. The UK is now one of the most expensive countries for power due to the government’s insistence on paying crazy prices for renewable energy, then forcing companies into an uncompetitive situation. China uses coal powered power stations to provide most of their low cost energy. The US has low cost energy through fracking – which is something people in the UK have protested against using so no low cost fuel developments to date. Net result – lost jobs to a country where they will use whatever the lowest cost power source.
The EU has imposed anti-dumping charges against China when the German and French governments make complaints ( such as ceramics and metal fixings) so why is there no complaint from the UK government about the dumping of steel from China?
Lastly, France doesn’t take any notice at all of EU laws about unfair government grants to support industry – Air France is a great example – where they will just ignore the EU and look after their own people, so why don’t we do the same? Because we want to be seen as good Europeans?
We seem to be playing to different rules to everyone else!!
