// BBC UK NEWS — CRONACA
Workers put on 'light duties' as cheap imported steel floods market
Tata Steel said they had seen lower demand for their products in recent months
Cheap imported steel flooding the market is causing lower demand and prices, companies say.
Andrew Gutteridge, who worked at Llanwern for over 30 years, said some workers were on lighter duties after cheap imports flooded the UK market.
Tata Steel, which operates the works in Llanwern, said the changes were having a significant impact on its business.
The UK government said the measures were introduced to strike a balance between protecting domestic production and maintaining a secure supply.
The Llanwern steelworks has seen its UK market share drop to 25%
It follows changes to the tariffs levied on foreign steel, external which meant imported products are subject to quotas, with some products being subject to taxes, making them more expensive.
Concerns were raised about the impact new steel taxes could have on manufacturing and engineering companies.
Community Union president Andrew Gutteridge said there had been substantial increases to galvanised steel imports from Vietnam, South Korea and India, since the move in July.
He said it had reduced Llanwern's UK market to just 25% and meant that workers were having a lot of downtime with production lines that are not constantly running.