UK Steel Association members lobby European Commission

Citation

(1999), "UK Steel Association members lobby European Commission", Anti-Corrosion Methods and Materials, Vol. 46 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/acmm.1999.12846eaa.002

UK Steel Association members lobby European Commission

Keywords Steel, United Kingdom, Europe

The UK Steel Association recently held its Executive Board meeting in Brussels for the first time. It claims to be the first national steel association from outside Belgium to do so. Addressing guests from the Brussels community at a reception early in the visit, UK Steel president Peter Siddall explained some of the reasons behind the initiative:

Last year over 70 per cent of UK steel exports went to mainland Europe, underlining the increasingly international nature of this global (steel) business. Whatever the politicians may say about the UK's future in Europe, there can be little doubt about its significance for the UK steel industry.

Peter Siddall and members of the board representing 95 per cent of UK steel producers held meetings with senior officials in the European Commission. One of the most contentious issues facing the steel industry and all energy intensive sectors is energy taxation, which was discussed with senior officials responsible for the environment and steel:

While what we were told about the principles that the Commission would adopt in evaluating environmental legislation made sense to us, the actual practices of both the EU and UK government currently fall well short of this, particularly in the area of energy taxation.

According to the Association, the version which the UK Government proposes to introduce would, as it currently stands, enforce a massive transfer of resource from industry to services - and to public sector employment - while contributing nothing to the reduction in CO₂ emissions. Perhaps the Association should also point out that as a result UK and European manufacturing jobs may, once again, be sacrificed on the altar of green political correctness.

Now in Europe, only the Spanish and Irish governments stand in the way of the harmonised energy taxation proposal.

The Association says that it is essential that steel is exempted from both these measures. Peter Siddall explains:

We are prepared to commit ourselves to improved energy efficiency to help the UK and EU meet their Kyoto commitments. Imposing a tax on us as well will simply reduce the funds available for investment and undermine our international competitiveness.

"Lively" was the euphemism used to describe the discussions with the Commission on this and other topics. Members had the opportunity to put over their views which were welcomed by the officials as a first-hand and fresh insight into market reaction, complementing the contacts that are maintained by the Association's Brussels and London offices with the Commission.

While Sterling's strength against the Euro is a problem unique to the UK, the UK industry does share many concerns with other European steel industries and raised these in discussion sessions with Commission officials responsible for trade, environment and the enlargement of the community to Central and Eastern European countries.

The clearest commercial problem facing EU steelmakers is the imports, which flooded into the Union last year following the collapse in Asian demand. The 11.2 million tonnes adverse movement in the EU's balance of trade in steel products speaks for itself, said Peter Siddall.

While the Commission is pursuing a number of anti-dumping investigations, the delegation pointed out that the anti-dumping instruments at the Commission's disposal are far from ideal for dealing with sharp, sudden shifts in trade flows such as were experienced last year.

EU enlargement presents both a threat and an opportunity - opportunities for investment and for business in potentially expanding markets; but also a threat if Central and Eastern European countries are given substantial derogations on membership. Commission officials were reminded of the substantial risks to current EU steel producers if candidate countries did not restructure and reorganise their steel industries before joining.

Details available from: UK Steel Association. Tel: +44 (0)171 343 3150; Fax: +44 (0)171 343 3190; E-mail: enquiries@uksteel.org.uk Web site: http://www.steel.org.uk