§ Ms ShipleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what action she is taking to prevent imports of steel from Eastern European countries which are produced in inefficient plants with highly pollutant side effects. [745991
§ Mr. WilsonA number of anti-dumping and anti-subsidy measures are in force against several steel products from various Eastern European countries. In addition, definitive safeguard measures introduced by the EU to guard against trade diversion as a result of the US safeguard measure announced in March include products from Eastern Europe. The EU also has agreements with Russia and Ukraine applying quantitative restrictions to imports of certain steel products from these countries.
These measures have been taken to protect EU industry from unfair trade practices that harm EU industries or, in the case of the safeguard measure, to prevent a damaging surge of imports into the EU. Neither EU commercial policy instruments nor WTO agreements contain provisions providing for environmental factors to be taken into account when restricting imports.