The UK said it would extend tariffs on imports of certain steel products to mid-2024 to protect Britain’s domestic industry, despite concerns the move would conflict with World Trade Organization rules.

Removing the tariffs—which had been due to expire on June 30—could cause “serious injury to UK steel producers,” International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan told the House of Commons on Wednesday. Ukrainian steel will not be subject to the additional quotas, she said.

The two-year extension of safeguard tariffs and quotas on comes after the UK said it would consult with other countries on its plan before making a decision. Trevelyan acknowledged that the decision for 5 product categories “departs from international legal obligations under the relevant WTO agreement.” 

“From time to time issues may arise where the national interest requires action to be taken which may be in tension with normal rules or procedures,” she said. 

The plans appear to be those cited by Boris Johnson’s ethics adviser, Christopher Geidt, in his resignation letter earlier this month. He accused the premier of putting him in an “odious” position. Johnson himself acknowledged in his reply to Geidt that a planned decision on tariffs “might be seen to conflict with our obligations under the WTO.”

Trevelyan’s move comes after the UK’s Trade Remedies Authority, a state body which advises on trade policies, recommended last year that the government remove tariffs on some steel products because of a lack of evidence that they were justified. Liz Truss, who was the UK’s trade secretary at the time, overruled the TRA and extended the tariffs until June 30 this year. Trevelyan’s decision on Wednesday extends the measures to the end of June 2024.