Attempts to introduce emergency legislation to help protect the British steel industry have been rejected by the Government.
Labour wanted to take control of the Commons order paper on June 28 so it could move 鈥渦rgent legislative action鈥 to assist the sector.
MPs heard measures which guard against cheap foreign imports will expire in nine days following a recommendation by the Trade Remedies Authority (TRA).
The Opposition鈥檚 motion warned nine of the 19 existing safeguards on steel products are recommended for abolition and called for urgent action from the Government to allow ministers to reject these changes and temporarily extend the protections.
But MPs voted 355 to 271, majority 84, to reject Labour鈥檚 proposals.
The TRA was established via the Trade Act 2021 in a bid to help defend the 海角视频鈥檚 economic interests from unfair international trading practices.
Business minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan, pressed on what the Government will do, said: 鈥淭he tools available for us with anti-dumping measures continue to be ones that remain at the forefront of the Secretary of State鈥檚 toolkit, and I know she will be focusing very closely on that in the days and weeks ahead.鈥
Trade minister Ranil Jayawardena also claimed steel remains 鈥渙ne of the commanding heights of the economy鈥 and said the Government is 鈥渃ommitted to championing free and fair trade to the benefit of jobs鈥.
Earlier, Conservative Holly Mumby-Croft 鈥 MP for the steel town of Scunthorpe 鈥 called for the Government to explore changes in law to enable Trade Secretary Liz Truss to retain existing steel safeguards.
She noted the TRA鈥檚 final recommendations 鈥渟till overlooked many of the arguments鈥 made by MPs from both sides of the Commons, adding: 鈥淩eading the final recommendations it is clear that the TRA is to some degree a hostage of the rigid terms set out in the trade remedies regulations.鈥
Ms Mumby-Croft said some decisions were made 鈥渄espite data being insufficient鈥, also noting: 鈥淚 am sure many across this House will agree that decisions that affect the lives and livelihoods of our constituents cannot be made in this way and will agree that we now need further proactive solutions to support the steel industry.
鈥淲e must look at whether reform of the Trade Secretary鈥檚 powers is required to allow safeguard assessments to be conducted in part by ministers who have an understanding of the bigger picture and are in a position to make a decision about the trade-offs and who are accountable for their decision-making.鈥
The MP is due to meet Prime Minister Boris Johnson, adding: 鈥淚 urge the Government to explore how we can make World Trade Organisation compliant changes in legislation to allow the Trade Secretary the option to take back control and consider whether it is legally possible to extend our existing safeguards.
鈥淪peaking plainly, it is clear to me that when the EU is set to keep all 19 of their steel safeguards and we鈥檙e only set to keep 10 that risks putting us at a disadvantage.鈥
For Labour, shadow trade secretary Emily Thornberry said: 鈥淲hen our steel companies go into the world and seek investment in their future, they must be able to say with total confidence that the British Government has their back, that it will support them when necessary and will always do whatever it takes to defend them against unfair trade from surging cheap imports.鈥
She asked MPs: 鈥淲ill you side with the communities of Scunthorpe, Cardiff and Sheffield who see a bright future for their industry, or will you side with the fanatics from the right-wing think tanks who see no future at all? Will you provide our steel industry with the safeguards they need to build for the future with confidence, or will you leave them to sink or swim in a flood of cheap imports from China?
鈥淚 have no idea where the Secretary of State stands when it comes to that choice because she鈥檚 chosen not even to be here this evening and has so far refused to take the emergency action that we have instead been forced to propose on her behalf.鈥
