Number 10 lobby briefing on steel tariffs, passports and Russia
2 min read
Here is a summary of this morning's briefing for lobby journalists by a spokesman for the Prime Minister.
STEEL TARIFFS
On America's decision to grant a temporary exemption for EU countries from new US steel tariffs, the spokesman said: "What the Prime Minister and her (EU) counterparts were discussing this morning was the need to ensure this does become a permanent exemption for the European Union. More broadly, we remain concerned about the impact of these tariffs on global trade and we want to work on a multi-lateral solution to this global problem of over-capacity."
PASSPORTS
On reports that a French company has been awarded the contract to print British passports after Brexit, ahead of UK firm De La Rue, the spokesman said: "We feel the chosen company demonstrated that they would be best able to meet the needs of our passport service. We needed a high quality and secure product which gets the best value for money for the taxpayer. This was a new bidding process which rightly went out to tender and we feel that the chosen company both demonstrates the best value for money for the taxpayer, and also in these kinds of things security is paramount and we feel that the chosen bidder meets those needs. But no judgement on De La Rue specifically."
He said the winning company "scored full marks for the IT and security solutions and all facilities meet required standards for information security".
RUSSIA
Asked whether the Prime Minister wanted other countries to follow the EU's lead after it withdrew its ambassador to Moscow, the spokesman said: "We have welcomed the EU Council standing in solidarity with the United Kingdom. We continue to work on a co-ordinated response, but as I've said previously it's a matter for individual countries the steps they take."
