Unite and Community welcome the UK-US agreement on steel tariffs and thank US trade union United Steelworkers for solidarity and support.
Trade unions representing thousands of workers in the UK steel industry welcome the agreement reached between the UK and US governments on the partial lifting of tariffs on UK steel destined for the US market. The agreement could potentially safeguard a significant number of jobs in the UK steel industry and could not have been reached without the extensive cooperation and solidarity demonstrated by the US steelworkers union, the USW, towards unions and workers in the UK.
However, the unions in the UK steel industry note the EU secured its deal with the US back in October, Japan secured a deal with the US in February, and that from the 1st of January our steelmakers have suffered a 25% price disadvantage in the US market compared with EU producers. This reality stands in marked contrast to the promises that were made about new trading opportunities post-Brexit.
The news on the agreement is welcome, but the government must do far more to support our steel industry, notably by acting to cut our uncompetitive energy prices and supporting the investment we need to decarbonise steelmaking. UK unions will continue to demand the government address the deep underlying structural issues to put the UK steel industry back on a stable and sustainable future.
Operations Director for Community, Alasdair McDiarmid, said:
“The news on the agreement is welcome, but the government must do far more to support our steel industry, notably by acting to cut our uncompetitive energy prices and supporting the investment we need to decarbonise steelmaking.
“UK steel unions will continue to demand the government address the deep underlying structural issues to put the UK steel industry back on a stable and sustainable future.”
National Officer for steel at Unite, Harish Patel, said:
“The agreement could potentially safeguard a significant number of jobs in the UK steel industry.
“It could not have been reached without the extensive cooperation and solidarity demonstrated by the US steelworkers union, the USW, towards unions and workers in the UK.”
If you are a member of Community and need help or advice, please contact us at help@community-tu.org or on 0800 389 6332.
© Community Trade Union 2024