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Saturday 02 April 2016 9:34 am

UK steel crisis: Prime Minister David Cameron raises issue with Chinese President Xi Jinping

By: James Nickerson

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Amid the ongoing steel crisis, Prime Minister David Cameron has talked through his concerns with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Downing Street confirmed that during a dinner at the White House, Cameron told Jinping that the two countries needed to work together.

It emerged last week that the UK has blocked efforts in the EU to impose high tariffs on Chinese steel. Cameron defended the decision to block the imposition of tariffs, which he said would "rewrite not simply the tariff rules on steel, but the entire tariff infrastructure of the EU".

But China has imposed a 46 per cent import duty on the type of steel that is made by Tata in Wales. 

Cameron last week said the government has not ruled anything out as it seeks to solve the UK steel crisis but doesn't believe that nationalisation is the answer to the potential closure.

Read more: Javid more likely to become next cabinet minister to resign amid steel crisis

But he's also said that efforts are being made to save steel jobs, and the government is asserting that it is on the side of steelworkers. 

Unions have said that many of the problems stem from China "dumping" cheap steel on overseas markets, and Cameron told Jinping that over-capacity needs to be tackled.

The government has been under pressure to act since Tata announced the decision that it would be putting its UK operations up for sale early on Tuesday morning.

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