THE Argus reported yesterday how US tariffs on steel imports could cost British steel jobs. Today, Prime Minister Tony Blair writes exclusively for Argus readers on the new threat facing steel.

The restructuring of the steel industry in Britain in recent years has cost thousands of jobs. Nowhere has been harder hit than Gwent.

As Argus readers know all too well, these tough decisions have meant great pain. The last year has been tough, but Llanwern is still here and we are determined in government to do everything we can to support it.

It means we are not going to stand back and see this plant and its workforce damaged by unfair action from a country whose own steel firms have ducked the tough decisions needed to make them competitive.

Business and many families are still suffering from the decisions taken by Corus. The government is determined to continue to work with these communities to tackle the real problems that remain.

Steel manufacturers across the world are having to face up to the cold fact of over-capacity and the difficult decisions that involves.

But in the United States, steel firms have put off these decisions and want to hide instead behind new high tariffs on imported steel.

I'm convinced this approach is unjustified, unfair, bad for the world economy, and, in the long-term, will fail to help the firms involved.

We lost no time in pointing out to the US authorities that such actions would be short-sighted and illegal.

They drive up prices for business and consumers, restrict choice and cost jobs. Nor do they, in the long run, protect the industries and the people who work in them.

It's why the aim of the World Trade Organisation is to reduce barriers - and why they were given the powers to intervene if member countries try unfairly to restrict imports. I informed President Bush, by letter and by phone, about Britain's hostility to any move to restrict unfairly steel imports.

I also told him, that if the US did impose tariffs, Britain and the EU would have no choice but to ask the WTO to declare the move illegal.

We are completely confident the WTO will order them to lift the tariffs. But, of course, such a ruling will take time. So we are now looking urgently, with our European partners, at the action we can take. We will not stand by and let America export its problems to us.