Team Blitz India
LONDON: The UK’s anti-dumping body has suggested that measures limiting the import of certain steel products be lifted after the decision to close the blast furnaces at Port Talbot.
Tata Steel is currently upgrading the Port Talbot plant in keeping with environment norms. The Government agreed to a £500-million package to support the loss-making plant employing around 8,000 people, which was facing shutdown over high carbon emission.
The statement from Trade Remedies Authority (TRA) said that it had initiated two reviews of the current safeguards measure on the (Category 1) steel product, Hot Rolled Flat and Coil steel.
TRA is the UK body that investigates whether trade remedy measures are needed to counter unfair import practices and unforeseen surges of imports. Hot Rolled Flat and Coil steel is commonly used as a raw material for other types of steel and makes up almost a third of all steel production globally.
Suspension review
The TRA initiated a suspension review and a Tarif Rate Quota (TRQ) review in response to applications from Tata Steel UK (TSUK) and Kromat Trading Ltd. Both reviews respond to TSUK’s recent proposal to close its two blast furnaces in Port Talbot, Wales, as part of a transition to an electric arc furnace.
The statement said that TRA intends to recommend to the Secretary of State for Business and Trade that the safeguard measure on Category 1 products s suspended for nine months. It said that there was evidence of a change in market conditions due to the sole UK producer, Tata, reducing or suspending domestic production and supply of Hot Rolled Flat and Coil steel.
However, it also added that the nature of that change is temporary, as Tata is likely to be undertaking a three-year ‘technical reconfguration’ to achieve netzero decarbonisation goals. It further found that there is an efect on the wider UK industry, which is likely to face a 25 per cent increase in costs, once quarterly TRQ volumes are exceeded.
Decarbonisation plans
But it also said that serious injury is unlikely to recur to UK producers, as there will be signifcantly lower production of the goods concerned during this proposed technical reconfguration.
Earlier, the Tata Steel / Port Talbot Transition Board met for the third time on February 1 to fnd out the company’s plans for decarbonisation, and how they would support those employees, communities and businesses afected.
The Board also had updates from the sub-groups on their plans and priorities in the coming months which included plans to develop a Local Economic Action Plan to inform and advise future Transition Board interventions.
The Transition Board will have access to up to £100 million of funding (£80 million from the UK Government and £20 million from Tata Steel) to invest in skills and regeneration programmes for the local area once the outcome of formal consultation is known.
