Britain aims to reduce steel import quotas

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is seeking to reduce quotas for steel imports from emerging economies to protect domestic producers, in a move that may violate international trade rules, the Sunday Telegraph newspaper said.
The newspaper said, without citing sources, that the Prime Minister is preparing to target many developing countries by imposing new “precautionary” import limits, aimed at protecting UK manufacturers from a “flood” of cheap steel “from abroad.”
Britain proposed on Thursday extending an existing package of tariffs and quotas on five steel products for another two years to protect domestic steelmakers.
But the Sunday Telegraph said broader measures were being finalized to be announced this week, in an effort to boost support for Johnson in industrial districts that have historically backed the opposition Labor Party.
The newspaper said that some senior government officials objected to the broader plans, in part, out of fear of retaliatory action against British exports such as whiskey and the potential damage to Britain’s reputation more broadly.
The newspaper quoted an unnamed government figure as saying, “This will spoil the economy… It is a complete violation of the rules of the World Trade Organization… This is anti-conservative, anti-free market and anti-capitalist.” (Archyde.com)