Governments have to see to
Governments have to see to the overall general interests of their country's capitalist class as a whole and as there are conflicting interests they have to arbitrate between these. Steel producers don't like cheap steel imports but steel consumers, such as the car industry, do. The BBC has been reporting this morning that the UK has been opposing the EU imposing higher tariffs on imported Chinese steel:
Quote:
The European Steel Association said the UK had been blocking an EU measure which would have tackled the "dumping" of cheap Chinese steel in Europe, which is partly being blamed for the crisis. (….) The UK has argued against higher tariffs, saying they would hit other sectors such as the car industry, which import a lot of foreign steel.
I imagine the outcome will be that the government will continue to side with the car rather than the steel industry. Bit of a dilemma too for Len McCloskey and UNITE (but he'll want to have his cake and eat it).