UK government seizes control of Chinese-owned British steel plant

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: News Websites
12 Apr 2025 23:04

The move comes amid growing fears over the future of the UK’s steel industry and the economic risks posed by the plant's collapse.

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Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer holds a press conference on April 11, 2025, calling an emergency weekend session of Parliament to pass legislation aimed at saving the country's last factory that makes steel directly from raw materials. (AP)

The UK government has passed emergency legislation to take control of the British Steel plant in Scunthorpe, halting the imminent closure of the country’s last remaining site capable of producing steel from raw materials.

The move, approved in an extraordinary Saturday session of Parliament without opposition, comes amid growing fears over the future of the UK’s steel industry and the economic risks posed by the plant's collapse.

The facility, which is owned by China’s Jingye Group, employs several thousand workers and supplies steel critical to key sectors such as construction and rail transport.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer described the government’s intervention as essential, warning that allowing the blast furnaces to go out would deal a devastating blow to the nation’s industrial base.

Speaking to steelworkers at a village hall near the Scunthorpe site, Starmer said the decision was made “in the national interest,” adding that the “pretty unprecedented” move would secure “a future for steel” in Britain.

"The most important thing is we've got control of the site, we can make the decisions about what happens, and that means that those blast furnaces will stay on," he told workers.

The takeover follows protests at the plant and reports that workers on Saturday morning blocked a delegation of Chinese executives from accessing key areas of the facility. According to The Times, British Steel staff physically prevented the Jingye representatives from entering critical parts of the site.

Police confirmed they were called to the scene "following a suspected breach of the peace," but no arrests were made.

Did US tariffs on steel influence the decision?

It is worth noting that this week, the UK was hit with a 10% baseline import duty alongside a 25% tariff on car exports, as well as steel and aluminium products. Some countries will face tariffs as high as 50%, beginning April 9.

Starmer has said he is prepared to deploy industrial policy tools to protect British businesses from the economic fallout of US President Donald Trump's sweeping new tariffs.

In an article for The Sunday Telegraph, Starmer reiterated his commitment to pursuing a trade agreement with the United States to mitigate the impact of the tariffs but suggested that direct state intervention may be necessary to safeguard the national interest.

"Some people may feel uncomfortable about this – the idea the state should intervene directly to shape the market has often been derided," he wrote. "But we simply cannot cling on to old sentiments when the world is turning this fast."