US Steel and Aluminium Tariffs
Debate between Michelle Donelan and Liam Fox(6 years ago)
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Dr Fox
The United States has long been at the forefront of leading global free trade, including in setting up the WTO itself. That is why we find it so disappointing that the current Administration should take this particular route and try this particular remedy for the problem. The right hon. Lady will notice that being a member of the European Union has no more protected us from these tariffs than Mexico or Canada.
Michelle Donelan (Chippenham) (Con)
The UK produces some very high-value steels, some of which cannot be sourced in the US. What more can we do to promote British manufacturing overseas?
Dr Fox
My hon. Friend makes a very interesting point. Not only do we send some very high-end steel to the United States, but some of it is steel that the United States itself does not manufacture. For end users in the United States, that will actually increase the price of a product they do not manufacture domestically, which cannot have anything other than adverse economic consequences. That is why it is very important, as I have said, that the voices of US industry and of those in Congress make their views very clear about the potential damage that this will pose, as Chairman Brady has said, to American families and jobs.
United States Tariffs: Steel and Aluminium
Debate between Michelle Donelan and Liam FoxMonday 12th March 2018
(6 years, 3 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Financial Guidance and Claims Act 2018 View all Financial Guidance and Claims Act 2018 Debates Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts Amendment Paper: Consideration of Bill Amendments as at 12 March 2018 - (12 Mar 2018)
Dr Fox
As I made clear, the EU will impose countermeasures because it believes that what we are witnessing is a safeguard. We believe that that is not justified by the section 232 case on national security. We will, alongside the EU, take whatever measures are required to ensure that that is dealt with.
Michelle Donelan (Chippenham) (Con)
What steps is the Secretary of State’s Department taking to ensure that the UK can protect British businesses in all sectors from unfair trading practices once the UK leaves the EU?
Dr Fox
We touched on that earlier. We will do that by replicating the trade remedies measures that exist. To do it, however, we have to set up a Trade Remedies Authority under the Trade Bill that is currently going through the House. I hope that the Opposition parties will look again at their rather inexplicable decision to vote against the setting up of a Trade Remedies Authority.
South-west England (Long-term Economic Plan)
Debate between Michelle Donelan and Liam Fox
Dr Fox
The M5 is key, and we need to ensure proper investment in it all the way down, including at junction 19 where we have experienced problems, and at junction 21, where there will be new development. It would be very nice to have a motorway running all the way down the peninsula, to ensure a proper route down the spine for road traffic. We can give the Chancellor some very good candidates for the road investment that he announced today. I say to my hon. Friend, however, that one would not want to introduce a note of discord among the group by arguing about exactly where lies the point of entry to the powerhouse. It will be a multi-nodal powerhouse, and I am sure that there will be plenty of entry points to be mentioned in everyone’s press release.
Michelle Donelan
Does my right hon. Friend agree that our transport links are vital to advancing the south-west’s economic growth, and that new stations, such as Corsham in my constituency, will be a huge boost for the economic growth of not only Chippenham but the entire region?
Dr Fox
If we are to have railway infrastructure, it is very important that we have access to the railways, and the new station at Corsham is very important in that, as is wider access to the rail network for disabled people. When we are talking about developing a transport infrastructure, we have to remember that we must be able to give access to all the citizens in the region, not just those who are able-bodied. In my constituency we had to wait a very long time to get disabled access to one of our busiest stations. In this day and age, that is simply not good enough, so the sort of infrastructure that my hon. Friend mentions is vital.
The other common factor affecting all of us throughout the south-west, to one degree or another, is the health of tourism. That industry takes many different forms across the south-west but is important to the income of those who live and work there.