BBC News
The imposition of American prices on British steel would be “negative” for the two countries, said the business secretary.
Jonathan Reynolds told the BBC that the United Kingdom and the United States had a “mutual interest” in the negotiation of an exemption from President Donald Trump’s plans for 25%import tax, which could Enter into force in March.
He said that the United Kingdom was in a different commercial position to other countries and could offer “very specialized” steel and aluminum exports that the United States needs as envelopes of naval submarines Made in Sheffield, while prices would increase costs for American taxpayers.
Reynolds comments came after the government has promised up to 2.5 billion pounds sterling to support the British steel industry.
President Trump said his prices would be applied “without exception or exemptions”.
However, Reynolds said on Sunday program with the Laura Kuensberg program that imposing them on British steel “would be negative for ourselves, it would also be negative for the United States”.
He said he had “very constructive conversations with key people from the Trump administration recognizing that our relationship is different”, including the US special envoy to the United Kingdom.
The minister told the program that he thought there was a basis for “a constructive commitment” between the United Kingdom and the United States, but “I’m not saying it’s easy”.
He added: “I appreciate that they have a mandate to change the way they approach the problems of trade, but we have a different argument, a different story to tell, to the EU or to China compared to our trade relations. “
Getty imagesThe government has already declared that it would not immediately retaliate at the prices announced by Trump.
UK Steel, which represents the industry, said that prices would be a “devastating blow” which would harm the contribution of 400 million pounds in the sector to the United Kingdom-US trade.
The United Kingdom is not a large supplier of steel in the United States, the country representing around 10% of exports in British steel.
But there are concerns within the industry that prices could not only hinder exports to the United States, but also lead to an excess of “spilled” steel in the United Kingdom.
This could happen if other countries that were no longer exported to the United States decide to unload steel at cheaper prices, which could potentially lead to British thinness.
Shadow secretary Andrew Griffith said that “uncertainty” that the steel industry had faced due to American rates was something that the government “was entirely silent when they should rather speak to United States, our nearest trade partner “.
On Sunday, the government launched a consultation on its steel plan, which will examine the means to reverse the long -term problems with which the industry is facing – including cheap imports flooding the domestic market.
The British steel industry has been faced with heavy job losses in recent years.
Tata Steel replaces the old stoves with an electric arc furnace – which is less with a high energy and more friendly – on its site in Port Talbot, in Wales. Traditional steelmaking on the site has stopped in September, resulting in 2,800 job cuts.
British Steel announced in 2023 Close the high stoves in ScunthorpeAnd has unveiled plans to deploy an electric arc oven, which requires fewer workers to continue, with 2,000 threatened jobs.
Asked about the loss of potential jobs in Scuthorpe, Reynolds accepted that there would be a “reduction in the number of heads” with the introduction of new technologies, but he said that more jobs could be created if the request British steel increased.
The government’s plan will address problems that “have retained industry for too long,” said the Ministry of Affairs and Trade (DBT), in particular:
- Identify opportunities to extend steel production
- Encourage the use of steel manufactured in the United Kingdom in public infrastructure projects
- Improvement of scrap processing facilities
- Invest in electric arc ovens, which are less with high energy intensity than high stoves and eliminate the need for coke emitted by high carbon
The consultation will also examine the costs of electricity for steel companies “to make the UK competitive on a global scale”, but the government has not yet made a firm commitment to reduce energy bills.
Griffiths said he was impatiently waiting to see a detailed plan, but added “a clear part must be steps to reduce the cost of energy which places an intolerable constraint on British steel”.
Aid for the sector will be available through the National Wealth Fund, which is associated with the government with the private sector and local authorities to finance the infrastructure and other projects.
The government affirms that this financial aid could benefit Scotland, as well as in the regions of England such as Scanthorpe, Lincolnshire, Rotherham and Redcar which have “a strong history of steel production”.
But the DBT said that it “wasted no time” to support Uk Steel, pointing towards The government has an expansion of Heathrow AirportWhich, according to him, would require 400,000 tonnes of steel.
The GMB Syndicate said that the government’s plan to support the steel industry “besieged” provided funding “desperately necessary” after “years of soaking”.
“While the world becomes more volatile, the national capacity for primary steel is vital for our economy and internal security,” added the national secretary of the union, Andy Prendergast.
Gareth Stace, Managing Director of UK Steel, said that the government’s commitment to industry was “both vital and welcome”.
The information collected in the consultation will be used to help form an “steel strategy”, to be launched in the spring.
Stace has added a robust strategy “has the power to reverse the drop in the sector, especially since we are faced with growing imports of imports benefiting from more favorable commercial conditions”.
The Liberal Democrats said that the government should urgently prepare for the reprisals. Deputy chief Daisy Cooper said the British steel industry was left “dangerously exposed” to “devastating damage” that Trump prices could inflict.