Steel Trade Measure

Debate between Alex Barros-Curtis and Chris Bryant

Thursday 25th June 2026 Commons Chamber

[Chris Bryant]

The hon. Member makes a good point. This is why we have a steel strategy as well as the steel trade measure, which is only part of the steel strategy. The Under-Secretary of State for Business and Trade, my hon. Friend the Member for Stockton North (Chris McDonald), was in the Chamber answering an urgent question on some of these issues last week. Some of the energy issues that others have raised are key to making this happen, as is, of course, Government procurement policy. One of the first things we did when we arrived in government in 2024 was introduce a new procurement strategy in relation to steel. The very least we could do is ensure that when the Government are spending taxpayers’ money, they are spending it on British steel wherever possible.

[Mr Alex Barros-Curtis (Cardiff West) (Lab)]

I refer to my membership of GMB and Unite. I thank the Minister for his statement. I understand the trade-offs he referred to and the need to take measures to rebalance the sector. He knows, because we have spoken about it a lot, that the steel strategy refers to 50% of future UK-made steel being Welsh steel. Will he say a bit more about that? It is something that my constituents are particularly passionate about.

[Chris Bryant]

There is a very fetching photograph of my hon. Friend and me at the electric arc furnace at 7 Steel in Cardiff. It is a very impressive operation—it is a very impressive photograph—and he makes a good point. We want to get to 50% of UK steel needs being met by British-made steel; it is a very simple campaign. The sector has now been in decline for decades, and we are at a critical moment. I have heard people say, “Why can’t you just delay this measure for a few months?” That would be the end of UK production of steel—completely and utterly. We simply cannot allow that to happen, given our defence needs, infrastructure needs and, frankly, national security needs. That is why we are committed in the way that we are.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Alex Barros-Curtis and Chris Bryant

Thursday 21st May 2026 Commons Chamber

[Chris Bryant]

I am afraid that I am not going to take any ideas from the Lib Dems on this matter—I think I can pretty much unite the House on that. One of the things I am very keen on is that we maintain our position as the second-largest art market in the world. That means that we have to negotiate better agreements, including with the European Union. That is one of the things we are doing at the moment.

The hon. Gentleman makes a fair point about the de minimis rule, but I notice that other businesses in his constituency are doing well. Tarquin’s Cornish Gin is doing well; it has been winning awards in the United States of America and elsewhere—I understand that it is the best gin in the world.

Of course, the work that my hon. Friend the Member for Stockton North (Chris McDonald) is doing on critical minerals is bound to benefit Cornish lithium. We are very keen to ensure that we have that capacity in the UK, rather than the lithium just being processed in other parts of the world.

[Mr Alex Barros-Curtis (Cardiff West) (Lab)]

10. What progress he has made on implementing the steel strategy.