PRIME Minister Tony Blair's special relationship with US President George Bush was instrumental in the scrapping of damaging steel tariffs, Trade and Industry Secretary Patricia Hewitt has said.
The pair's closeness, reinforced during the recent state visit, played a key role in the President removing the barriers which had priced British steel out of the US market.
Ms Hewitt said the Prime Minister had pressed Mr Bush on the issue.
"I have absolutely no doubt that Tony Blair's influence was pretty effective in all this," she said.
"He raised this matter on many, many occasions with President Bush, most recently, of course, during the visit to London.
"That, along with the fact we stood absolutely rock solid in Europe and upheld the rules of the World Trade Organisation, forced the US to back away from protectionism that was very damaging to our steel industry and was also, ironically, damaging to American manufacturers."
President Bush announced the climbdown over tariffs on steel products late on Thursday, averting a trade war with Europe.
The tariffs were introduced 21 months ago to protect US steel firms from overseas competition.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article