U.K. Steel Warns of Brexit Pain as Protectionism Spreads
- Trade groups, lawmaker concerned about more cheap imports
- U.K. has opposed European plans for more protectionist policy
An employee cuts a sample from a roll of coiled steel inside Liberty House Group's rolling steel mill in Newport, U.K., on Tuesday, May
Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Brexit may aggravate a headache for the U.K.’s embattled steel industry: more under-priced Chinese supply, according to a trade group.
Britain, which is looking toward a future of free trade outside the European Union, has for years resisted a proposal that would raise EU tariffs on imported steel, saying it would increase costs for users. If the U.K. adopts less protectionist policies than other regions when it leaves the bloc, that may spur more below-cost imports from China, lobby group U.K. Steel warned.