FEB 16 – The government has announced plans to protect the UK’s steel industry in a bid to secure its long-term future, as it faces the impact of potential tariffs.
The Plan for Steel will include measures that seek to bring down the cost of production and encourage the use of domestic steel in infrastructure projects.
It also hopes to protect UK steel from “unfair trading practices abroad”, including being undercut by cheaper suppliers.
The announcement comes days after US President Donald Trump said he would impose a 25% tariff on all steel imports from 12 March – something the UK sector fears would cost it millions in trade.
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds launched a consultation on the government’s Plan for Steel to look at long-term issues facing the industry, after ministers committed to providing up to £2.5bn in support.
While the consultation does not directly address the threat tariffs may pose to the sector, Reynolds said the financial support for the steel industry was “to protect our industrial heartlands, maintain jobs, and drive growth”.
Shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith said the “uncertainty” the steel industry faced due to US tariffs was something the government “has been entirely silent on when instead they should be talking to the US, our closest trading partner”.
The Plan for Steel will address issues that have been “holding the industry back for too long”, the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) said.
These include:
Identifying opportunities to expand steel production
Encouraging the use of UK-made steel in public infrastructure projects, such as the proposed Heathrow Airport expansion
Improving scrap processing facilities
Investing in electric arc furnaces, which are less energy-intensive than blast furnaces and use less carbon-emitting coke
The consultation will also examine electricity costs for steel companies “to make the UK competitive globally”, and how to protect the sector from unfair trading practices abroad, such as cheap imports flooding the market, the DBT added.
The announcement does not directly address the potential impact of Trump’s tariff plans at this stage, nor does it include a firm commitment to reduce energy bills.
The government has previously said it would not retaliate immediately to the tariffs announced by Trump, despite many in the steel industry calling on Britain to join the EU and Canada in threatening reciprocal measures.
Reynolds told the BBC earlier this week the UK had a strong case to avoid the import taxes – which Trump has said will be enforced “without exceptions or exemptions” – as British exports to the US were small in comparison to other nations and steel was used in areas such as defence.
By BBC
