Torfaen Constituency Labour Party
Promoted by Mark Ward-Jones on behalf of the Torfaen Constituency Labour Party at 27 Brunel Road, Fairwater, Cwmbran, Torfaen NP44 4QT.
UK Government and EU need to “get on with it” as Welsh steelworkers join 5,000 strong protest in Brussels
Moves by the European Commission to widen the scope of their anti-dumping investigations into three new steel products being imported from China have been welcomed by Welsh Labour MEP, Derek Vaughan.
However, as Welsh steelworkers arrive in Brussels, along with around 5,000 others from over 15 European countries, as part of a protest taking place on Monday, 15th February 2016, Mr Vaughan has urged the Commission and the UK Government to speed up its work and take decisive action to prevent the situation for the Welsh steel industry deteriorating further.
He said:
“Clearly, the flooding of the steel market with products from China at artificially low prices has created a massive destabilising force that is damaging the ability of Welsh steelmakers to compete on an even playing field.
The UK Government and the European Commission do have the powers to take action and, frankly, they both need to hurry up and get on with it.
The announcement at the end of last week that the Commission will be looking to start 3 new investigations on top of nine that are still ongoing will be welcomed by the steel industry across Europe. However, it is becoming increasingly frustrating that the Commission is relatively slow in taking action compared to the US and they need to do everything in their power to push on with this. The UK Government can also help by stopping blocking changes that would improve the rules around anti-dumping.
The betrayal and inaction of the Tory UK Government has been devastating for those working in Port Talbot and other Welsh plants but both they and the Commission are still in a position to make an immediate difference when it comes to tackling the current situation.”
Mr Vaughan will be joining steelworkers from Wales at the march which will be one of the biggest ever in the history of the European steel industry.
“The size of the protest is a clear demonstration of the size of the crisis that steelmaking faces in Wales. I will be there meeting with trade union representatives and attending the Steel Summit as well as pressing the case for a clear and response directly with Anna Soubry MP, the UK Government’s Trade Minister later in the day.”
• Details of the latest European Commission anti-dumping action on steel can be found here: http://ec.europa.eu/news/2016/02/20160212_en.htm
