Russel Codling, commercial director at steelmaker Tata Steel UK, has warned that the UK steel industry faces “irreversible consequences” and could collapse within two months unless the UK government takes swift action to extend protections against cheap foreign imports, according to media reports.
Talking to the UK Parliament’s Business and Trade Committee on February 10, Mr. Codling stated that the existing protective measures are insufficient, while he noted that the industry needs decisive intervention by July 1 to avoid a severe contraction.
Mr. Codling highlighted that the current 25 percent safeguard duties on certain imported steel products are set to expire in June, leaving UK producers vulnerable to inexpensive foreign competition, particularly from China, and he urged ministers to extend or replace them with a new system.
He pointed to the protective measures recently adopted by the EU and the US as examples the UK could follow to strengthen domestic competitiveness and fend off cheap imports.
Industry “teetering on the brink” as threats mount
Codling told MPs that the UK steel industry is “teetering on the brink” and that, without immediate action, the domestic sector and its supply chains “won’t have a steel industry many months from now”.
UK ministers have been pressed to act quickly to put stronger protective mechanisms in place, but progress has been slow, raising concerns among domestic steel producers and trade officials about the wider economic implications for manufacturing and employment.