On February 16, London time, the British Department of Business and Trade announced a steel industry development plan and solicited public opinions on it. According to the plan, the British government will inject 2.5 billion pounds (about 3.155 billion US dollars) to support the development of the local steel industry, encourage domestic infrastructure projects to give priority to the use of domestic steel, and guide steel production companies to switch from highly polluting blast furnaces to electric arc furnaces, strengthen scrap steel recycling, reduce carbon emissions, and promote green transformation, aiming to ensure that the British steel industry can maintain global competitiveness and cope with the challenges brought by US steel and aluminum tariffs.
British Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said that the offshore wind power industry alone will consume 25 million tons of steel by 2050, and this demand will bring a market of 21 billion pounds (about 26.502 billion US dollars) to British steel companies.
Statistics released by the UK Department of Commerce show that the US market accounts for 10% of UK steel exports. The 25% tariff policy announced by US President Trump on all US imported steel and aluminum is expected to cause the UK to lose tens of millions of pounds each year. In addition, a large amount of steel that cannot enter the US market may flood into the UK market and drive down prices, causing an impact on British steel companies.
