Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what representations he is making to (a) the EU and (b) his counterparts in EU member states on the UK's preferred options for when the exemption from US steel tariffs ends on 1 June 2018; and if he will make a statement.

I have been in regular contact with EU Trade Commissioner Malmström and my EU counterparts on this issue, most recently at the Trade Foreign Affairs Council on 22 May. We are working closely with the US and our EU partners to secure a permanent EU exemption to these tariffs. The UK continues to raise at the highest levels with the US Administration our concerns about the potentially damaging impact of tariffs on our steel and aluminium industries.