Boris Johnson says ethics adviser resigned over steel tariffs row
Boris Johnson has suggested that his ethics adviser resigned in a row over protection for the British steel industry, after being asked for a view about potentially breaking the UK’s obligations to the World Trade Organization.
In his letter responding to Christoper Geidt’s resignation, the prime minister said he wanted advice on the use of tariffs for “protecting a crucial industry”, which “might be seen to conflict with our obligations under the WTO”.
Johnson said he was asking Lord Geidt’s advice on whether a government decision relating to the UK’s Trade Remedies Authority (TRA) would be proper with due regard to the ministerial code, which obliges those covered by it to act within the law. Johnson appeared to suggest in his letter that overruling the TRA could conflict with the UK’s WTO obligations – essentially a form of international law.
Set up under post-Brexit reforms to advise on trade policy, the TRA told the government last June that nine out 19 tariffs the government had imposed on steel imports could be removed because there was no evidence that British producers were being hurt by cheap foreign imports.
In a recommendation to Liz Truss, who was international trade secretary at the time, it said tariffs on steel plates used by ship builders and tin used in cans, as well as barbed wire and steel rods for reinforcing concrete, could be scrapped.
It said the border taxes – first imposed by the EU while Britain was still a member in 2018, amid fears over cheap Chinese imports – could be extended on other products, including metallic-coated sheets, railway material, and large welded tubes used for energy pipelines.
With political considerations after winning “red wall” seats from Labour, and amid intensive lobbying
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