Unlock the digestive of free editor
Roula Khalaf, the FT editor, chooses her favorite stories in this weekly newsletter.
British Steel is preparing to gap one of his two ovens of the explosion next week to preserve critical raw materials after the busy talks with the UK ministers to stop a collapse will continue for a second day.
The mass would allow the Chinese -owned steel manufacturer to extend production in the remaining oven at its main site in Scunthorpe in Lincolnshire by mid -next month, people familiar with the issue said.
British owner Steel Jingye Group met with business secretary Jonathan Reynolds on Wednesday to discuss options to stop a collapse of the loss company.
Talks between both sides have decided to resume on Thursday afternoon, people said.
The Chinese company last month rejected a £ 500m taxpayer support package from ministers to help it move on to the greenest forms of production.
The government has said that all options, including the nationalization of the steel producer, are at the table while seeking to avoid the loss of 3,500 jobs.
British Steel is also the last manufacturer of the United Kingdom of Primary Steel after Tata Steel closed his two ovens last year.
Alun Davies, a national officer in the community’s Stelellik Union, said the priority for the workers was to “see an agreement made”.
British Steel and the Department of Business and Trade said in a joint statement that “both parties welcomed continued cooperation in talks to find a way forward.”
“The United Kingdom Government thanked Jingye for their respect for the workforce during this process, and the work continues with the pace to find a resolution.”
UK officials have examined options to buy raw materials such as coal coal and other iron materials to keep the ovens function after Jingye stopped critical input orders.
Idling would allow the oven to be held at a certain temperature, enabling it to be resumed within six weeks compared to a permanent closure, where the oven is allowed to cool completely.
Earlier Wednesday, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy told the BBC a “trading solution” for the British steel is “accessible and inside the eyes”.
Unite, the union, called on ministers to renew the British steel if the government fails to agree with an agreement with its Chinese owners. Sharon Graham, Secretary General, said it would be an “economic catastrophe if the worst would happen and the government would allow British steel to collapse”.
“The government must also use its purchasing power to place steel in the UK in the heart of the main UK infrastructure projects as part of a united industrial strategy that supports the United Kingdom production,” she said.
Talks are taking place in the wake of tariffs set by US President Donald Trump with 25 percent in steel and aluminum exports to America. Much of the British Steel product is sold domestically.
British officials are considering whether the United Kingdom should maintain the internal capacity of making the “primary” steel given the potential impact of Trump’s tariffs on supply chains, according to people familiar with the matter.
This would require the continuous operation of the explosion furnaces in the mid -term. The alternative is less electric oven with carbon intensity that melts recycled steel, but cannot produce steel from scratch.
The government is expected to issue its verdict on the steel strategy that has promised to publish by the end of spring.
