Business and Trade Committee’s ‘5 tests’ for a strategy to secure British steel
1 April 2025
Committee says time for maximum pressure on British Steel’s owners to save Scunthorpe blast furnace capacity
The Committee has written urgently to Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds to set out 5 tests for a strategy to support the UK steel industry ahead of Donald Trump’s self-styled “Liberation Day” potentially imposing widespread tariff barriers to global trade.
The British steel industry has been in crisis for a decade: in December 2015 Parliament’s predecessor business committee reported on the five thousand steel jobs lost within six months during a “period of acute pressure” with knock on effects for “whole communities”.
Now those global pressures on the UK’s industry are mounting. Global excess capacity is rising, with the OECD reporting that China’s exports are “approaching the peak levels witnessed in 2016.”
The Committee has heard compelling evidence from UK steel executives who say Donald Trump’s tariff war is already hitting the UK steel industry, with customers considering cancelling orders and finding new suppliers and the risk of a further influx of cheap imports. Alongside this, UK industry is undergoing a difficult and costly transition to decarbonise.
The Committee says “Government must act swiftly” - in the immediate days ahead that means maximising pressure on British Steel’s owners to come to a deal that keeps open the critical blast furnaces at Scunthorpe.
Chair comment
Rt Hon Liam Byrne, Chair of the BTC, said: “Steel is not just a commodity —it’s the spine of our national strength, a cornerstone of industrial communities and a sovereign capability we cannot afford to lose in this new and uncertain world.
“A decade ago, we paid the price of doing nothing: furnaces went cold, jobs were lost, communities were hollowed. Now, the pressures on our steel makers are multiplying once more — global overcapacity, protectionist shocks, and the high cost of decarbonisation all threaten to tip the balance again.”
“That is why the Government’s promise of a new steel strategy must mark not just a statement of ambition, but a shift from the drift of the past to direction for the future.
“The Committee has set out five tests — clear, measurable, and urgent — which ministers must now meet: from defining the sovereign capabilities we need, to shielding our producers from unfair trade, to using public procurement and cutting energy costs to level the playing field.”
“Steel makers don’t want sympathy; they need certainty, decisiveness and speed. We want the Steel Council to develop and deliver a 25–30 year vision — but the crisis at British Steel warns us the next few days may matter more than the next three decades.
“The blast furnaces at Scunthorpe are not symbols of the past — they are pillars of the future. Keeping them online is not only an industrial decision, it’s a national imperative and so if needed, we will call British Steel’s Chief Executive Mr Zengwei An to personally explain to Parliament what more is needed to keep the furnaces blazing and the steel rolling.
“We urge the Government to act swiftly and strategically. Delivering this strategy is not just about steel. It is about whether Britain intends to shape the future of industry, or surrender it.”
It sets out 5 tests that a rapidly published steel strategy must meet:
Test 1: a clear statement of the Government’s 25-30 year vision for steel, with a clear definition of the sovereign capabilities the UK needs and a clear specification of the target markets of the future
Test 2: immediate safeguards to protect UK steelmakers from the rise of protectionism and its consequences, matching as closely as possible the timeframe for safeguards in the European Union
Test 3: maximum support for the UK steel makers from taxpayer-funded procurement
Test 4: reductions in energy costs for the steel industry, so they are in line with the UK’s closet European competitors
Test 5: steps to secure a sufficient and stable supply of scrap steel
Further information
Image: House of Commons