The British government acted quickly on Saturday to control the operation of the country's last large crude oil production facility, which seemed to be a major step towards national chemical plants.
The government called lawmakers to recall from Saturday's holiday with unusual and dramatic moves to approve the government's emergency legislation.
The government said it was taking action to prevent the owners of the British Steel Complex of Chinese companies from taking steps alone to shut down the explosion furnace, which cost 2,700 jobs.
“Steel is crucial to the industrial strength of the UK, our security and our identity as a major global power,” Jonathan Reynolds, secretary of business and business, told Parliament on Saturday, introducing the legislation.
Despite the interest in retaining steel now, the UK has long been declining. Trading group UK Steel said crude steel production has fallen by about 50% over the past decade.
The UK industry is fighting high energy costs and competition, mainly from China, which is now more than half of the global steel.
President Trump's recent tariffs on 25% of steel imported into the United States have added another hurdle.
In this tough environment, Prime Minister Keir Starmer's administration is now risking supporting a business, whose owners say they lose around 700,000 pounds or $915,000 a day.
The government insists that it is not nationalizing British steel, but rather that it is claiming control over the board and management, and that it seems to be responsible for the operating costs.
The government said on Friday that to show the increasingly painful tone of the dispute, the fired employees “violate the orders of the Chinese owners” will be able to resume.
The government said it hopes to find a partner to invest in the greener steel process, but critics say the moves compete with nationalization.
“This is a daunting nationalization plan,” warned Andrew Griffith, a business spokesman for the opposition Conservative Party.
Mr. Starmer's approach seems to be a variety of motivations.
He was wary of shutting down a large factory with thousands of job expenses from union supporters.
Last year, Tata Steel, a large Indian company, closed most of the other major UK steel mills in Port Talbot in Wales, causing heavy work losses.
“We're very worried and a lot of anger about it,” said Alasdair McDiarmid, assistant secretary general of the Community Alliance who represents many steel workers.
In a world of growing economic nationalism, Mr. Steimer seems to accept the argument that it is important for a country to retain some kind of ability to make so-called Virgin steel in the country.
The British steel mill in Scunthorpe, northeastern England, owns the last two operating explosion furnaces in the UK, huge chambers that use iron ore and cola (coal derivatives) to produce molten metals. Other factories then made crude oil steel into products such as the construction industry and beams.
The pressure to stay open-ended Scunthorpe appears to have increased after the Trump administration signaled that commitment to European security is lower than the previous U.S. administration. President Trump's tariffs are obviously part of the calculation.
“In view of the global economic instability, it is crucial that manufacturing be protected at home,” the government said on Friday.
Mr Reynolds said he offered what he called “generous” aid to Jingye, which proposed transferring Scunthorpe production to electric furnaces that make steel by melting scrap metal.
Explosive furnaces like Scunthorpe produce high-quality steel but also emit emissions, and many European steel companies are considering converting to other technologies.
Mr Reynolds told lawmakers Jingye wanted what he called “too much government support.” The cost of converting to an electric furnace is estimated to be £2 billion or more.
He also said that in recent days, Jinye appears to have tried to starve the explosive furnace of raw materials like Coca-Cola to force the shutdown. “The company will therefore irrevocably close the primary steel,” he said.
A British Steel spokesman declined to comment. In a press release last month, the company said it has invested £1.2 billion in British steel since taking over in 2020.
Eshe Nelson Contribution report.
