Meanwhile, wind farm developers have privately argued that to hit the Government’s 2030 clean power target, ministers may have to relax – rather than strengthen – rules designed to ensure that turbines are made with “local content” from the UK.
Mr Smith said the GMB did not support tackling Chinese exports through “protectionist” measures such as trade tariffs, such as those applied by Joe Biden, the US president.
But he called for the Government to introduce a carbon border tax which would penalise imports of steel or other products shipped from China that had been produced using carbon-intensive processes.
Mr Smith warned: “Protectionism is not in the interest of workers or our economy. We’re a trading nation. But this is not fair trade and we need to stop pretending it is.
“There is just a fundamental challenge with not having a level playing field and competing against a huge, non-market actor like China.
“There needs to be a debate over a carbon border tax and as a new world order starts to take shape, there has to be a debate about the national security implications of having no industrial base.”
North Sea jobs at risk
As a union representing large numbers of oil and gas workers – once known as the General, Municipal, Boilermakers and Allied Trade Union – the GMB is also concerned about Mr Miliband’s stance regarding the North Sea.
Since Labour’s election victory in the summer, the Energy Secretary has initiated a review of the licensing process for North Sea oil and gas projects and withdrawn opposition to legal challenges that target fossil fuel projects such as Equinor’s Rosebank.
Meanwhile, Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, has piled on further pressure by expanding the scope of a windfall tax on the sector. That has prompted warnings from North Sea operators that a string of projects will have to be wound down prematurely.