The British manufacturer of secondary products sees no support for tariffs
A British refining manufacturer has been denied government funds to modernize its operations, while its exports to the United States have been heavily affected by the country's new tariff regime, Kallanish reports.
Lawrence McDougall, the owner of All Steels Trading, expressed disappointment at the lack of government support for his steel production, which includes two hot rolling mills in the West Midlands.
Special Steel Grades in Ettingshall and Bromford Iron in West Bromwich are heavily export-oriented, and the United States represents a significant market for specialty products.
McDougall notes that some buyers in the United States cannot afford to pay the 25% tariff and cannot pass it on to their customers, while it is also financially impractical for them to share the costs. About half of the customers have already paid this 25%, which, according to him, leads to huge inflation. The other half of his clients "sit on the sidelines," he adds.
"Our products are so individual that they have no other source, no internal supply," he says.
McDougall also stresses that the agreement between the UK and the US has not been implemented at the moment. the trade deal that was previously agreed at the beginning of the year with British companies is still linked to a 25% tariff, which was supposed to be reduced to zero.
His clients have pointed out that the tariffs make the costs unacceptable, threatening the viability of their own business.
Bromford Iron has already closed one of its two rolling mills, while Special Steel Sections is evaluating its future. The government rejected McDougall's proposal to allocate funds for the modernization of the remaining Bromford Iron plant.
The proposed scheme included the modernization of the plant using modern energy-efficient technologies, the transition from gas furnaces to electric induction heating. This is despite the fact that the government has allocated up to 2.5 billion pounds ($3.37 billion) through the National Welfare Fund (NWF) for the sector as part of the metallurgy development strategy.
He unsuccessfully interacted with local deputies and government agencies, including Prism.
The plants also provide support to domestic steelmakers, who traditionally purchase 25,000 tons of raw materials per year from British Steel and 7 Steels for their rolling mills.
All Steels Trading was ready to finance more than half of all investments, including the supply of induction heaters and cooling systems from the UK.
Government feedback has shown that the plan "meets all requirements" in terms of efficiency, emissions reduction