Jobs and kebabs on the line as the UK steel sector reverses import tariffs
When Jonathan Reynolds announced the summer tariffs that protected Steremain manufacturers from the Flood of more imports, the reaction seemed to be almost universal.
“This government can be truly supported in our support of UK steel,” said Reynolds, Business Secretary, promising to protect “an important industry that protects Britain’s industrial strength and national security.”
Gareth Stace, General Director of Body Body UK STIME, paid for the “huge effect” that would stop foreign manufacturers from “going out of business in the UK and going out of business.”
But behind the scenes, the glow of unity is fading fast. Letters, emails and Board minutes seen by the Sunday Times have revealed the war industry itself – key steel makers and small manufacturers are suing another British steel environmentalist.
On the other side are the primary steel producers: heavyweights such as tata steel, British steel, Cersa and special steel, which together employ about 10,000 workers, produce finished products such as bills, blooms. They argue that protection is necessary to protect British production from Story-Steel in an event sponsored by Asia, especially China.
On the other hand there are users of metal “downstream” – firms that take these finished products and turn them into everything from metal washers and car parts to kitchen appliances. Together they support more than 300,000 jobs, and they say the new tax rates are pushing them to the brink.
Their case is simple: by making imported steel more expensive, the government is driving up its costs – at times when manufacturing in Britain doesn’t make economic sense.
“British steelmakers want to deliberately harm low-income businesses, or some are their customers,” said Stephen Morley, president of the Confederation of British Metalforming (CBM), which represents 200,000 firms.
Morley and a coalition of lower trade bodies – including the British Constructwork Association, the British Stainless Steel Association, and the International Steel Trade Association (the Indian Conglomelar Association owned a tatbot port in South Wales.
In a letter to Trade Minister Chris McDonald, Morley said former business secretary Reynolds had acted after Tata “threatened to withdraw from the government’s coal arc cleaning scheme unless strong proposals were presented.
Tata declined to comment, but the UK steelmaker insists that protection is necessary given the “Existing Risk” given the Chinese breakup and ExpoRest’s rebranding in Vietnam and South Korea to avoid waste disposal laws.
“We have to implement more comprehensive import controls,” said Peter Brennan, the steel’s director of trade and economics. “That’s what the US has done. That’s what the EU is doing. If we don’t do it, we’re going to lose our steel industry.”
Companies that have helped warn of the consequences can start with construction, manufacturing and infrastructure. Britain only makes enough steel to meet demand, forcing firms to import – now the prices.
Richard Webster, Chairman of the British independent reinforcing Fanzicators Association, said that the UK produces only 600,000 tons of steel reinforcing bars per year, far short of the 1.1 million tons.
“Imports play an important role in maintaining delivery in the construction industry,” wrote trade secretary Peter Kyle. “Tax rates can slow down projects and slow down labor growth.”
Ista’s Simone Draper added that the changes had already caused “disruption costs and unexpected costs across the board.”
There is a growing fear that the hikes of 40% of hikes are planned for 50% of the planned levies and the suspension of tax rates due to the next year – they can “pull the chain of supply of steel”, in the words of Morley.
Most companies sit uncomfortably between the two sides. Philip Jackson, managing director of light stones in North Yorkshire, says his business is both cheap and up to them.
“A four-pronged approach to defense will punish us,” he said. “We need a balanced policy that supports domestic producers without hurting the export chains.”
To find that balance, Kyle sent Engineering Consultancy Hatch to Map Britain’s Steel Production Potential and look for the next 25 years – an attempt to find out which products can be profitable.
For some in the field, the stakes are more visible than the trading figures. Kirsty Davies-Chinnock, a stainless steel specialist in the West Midlands, says the tariffs are threatening the invisible infrastructure that protects everyday life.
“Everyone in the UK comes across my products at least 30 times a day,” he said. “From the evolution of light to take vitamins, to have a cup of coffee – right when you fall into a night break and take your coffee, and you can’t have your coffee, your vitamins – or your kebab.”
It’s a stark reminder that in the civil war that’s destroying British steel, it’s not just monasteries and factories that are at stake – thousands of small businesses, builders, and manufacturers rely on them every day.
