Category Archives: Manufacturing sector

UK metals firms threaten to sue government over tariffs on steel imports from Asia

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Companies send letter to business secretary complaining new rules were imposed with 24 hours’ notice

UK metals companies have threatened to take legal action against the government over tariffs on raw steel imports from Asia which they claim have caused a “tsunami” of problems for the industry.

Earlier this summer, the business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, reduced the amount of raw steel from Vietnam and South Korea that can be imported tariff-free in a move designed to protect UK raw steel makers, which face competition from cheap imports.

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Business secretary to meet Lotus chiefs amid doubts over future of operations

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Jonathan Reynolds to hold talks with carmaker after reports suggested its UK factory could close

The business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, will hold talks with Lotus after the carmaker appeared to shelve plans to shut its UK operations.

After reports that Chinese owner Geely was planning to stop manufacturing at the Hethel plant in Norfolk, putting 1,300 jobs at risk, Lotus issued a statement saying it had “no plans” to close the factory.

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UK government unveils £275m investment in training and apprenticeships in England

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Labour makes funding centrepiece of its industrial strategy in bid to counter Reform’s surge in so-called red wall

The government will present a £275m investment in technical training and apprenticeships as the centrepiece of its long-awaited industrial strategy, in a direct challenge to Nigel Farage’s growing influence in England’s manufacturing heartlands.

The package, announced by the business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, on Sunday, includes funding for new technical excellence colleges, short courses in artificial intelligence (AI) and digital manufacturing, and major capital upgrades to training providers across England.

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Trump threatens to keep 25% tariff on UK steel imports over Port Talbot concerns

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Exclusive: Sources say US wants information on when importing of raw materials from abroad at Port Talbot site will stop

Donald Trump is threatening to keep 25% tariffs on some or all of its steel imports from the UK unless it gives specific guarantees over the Indian-owned steelmaking plant at Port Talbot in south Wales, sources have told the Guardian.

An agreement to reduce tariffs on UK car exports to the US and scrap them for the aerospace sector was signed off by the US president and Keir Starmer on Monday, on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Canada.

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Trump indicates ‘positive’ progress in US-EU trade talks

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Wall Street up in early trading after US president commends bloc for calling to ‘quickly establish meeting dates’

Donald Trump has indicated there has been progress in US trade talks with the EU, helping send share prices rising on Wall Street, after he commended the bloc for calling to “quickly establish meeting dates”.

“I have just been informed that the EU has called to quickly establish meeting dates. This is a positive event, and I hope that they will,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Tuesday, saying the EU would be “very happy and successful” if it agreed a deal.

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Trump threatens 25% tariff on Apple and Samsung phones not made in US

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Announcement wipes about $70bn off Apple shares amid pressure on company to build smartphones in US

Donald Trump has threatened to impose a 25% tariff on iPhones if they are not made in the United States, as he stepped up the pressure on Apple to build its signature product in the country.

The president wiped approximately $70bn (£52bn) off the company’s shares with a post on the Truth Social platform that said iPhones sold inside the US must be made within the country’s borders.

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‘World’s largest’ electric ship measuring 130 metres launched by Tasmanian boatbuilder

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Manufacturer Incat built Hull 096 to run between Buenos Aires and Uruguay, dubbing it the ‘most complex’ project it has ever undertaken

An Australian boatbuilder has launched what it describes as the world’s largest battery-power ship, describing it as a “a giant leap forward in sustainable shipping” and the “most important” project it has ever done.

Incat, a manufacturer based in Tasmania, constructed the ship – called Hull 096 – after being contracted by the South American ferry operator Buquebus to build a vessel to run between the Argentinian capital, Buenos Aires, and Uruguay.

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Trump tariffs cause fastest slump in British factory export orders in five years

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Decline in output and new orders in April allied with rising uncertainty is prompting layoffs, survey finds

Britain’s factories suffered a slump in export orders last month as Donald Trump’s globally unsettling tariff regime sent overseas demand for UK goods tumbling at the fastest pace in five years.

Manufacturers reported rising economic and trade uncertainties in April as some tariffs took effect and other threatened border taxes loomed, forcing them to lay off workers for a sixth consecutive month.

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China manufacturing activity plummets amid Trump tariff war

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Index of activity drops to lowest reading since December 2023 as a result of ‘sharp changes’ in international trading

China’s factory activity slowed in April, with Beijing blaming “sharp changes” in the global economy as it fights a mounting trade war with the United States.

Punishing US tariffs that reached 145% on many Chinese products came into force in April, and Beijing responded with 125% duties on imports from the US. Chinese exports soared more than 12% last month as businesses rushed to get ahead of the punishing tariffs.

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UK manufacturers to cut jobs ‘within weeks unless ministers can strike trade deal’

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Bosses from automative, manufacturing and energy warned MPs about effect of Trump tariffs

Britain’s manufacturers will start cutting jobs “within weeks” unless the government can strike a deal to safeguard the UK economy from Donald Trump’s trade war, industry leaders have told MPs.

Senior executives from the UK’s automotive, manufacturing and energy sectors warned a committee of MPs to expect job losses this summer if the US moves ahead with a swathe of global trade tariffs set out by Trump earlier this month.

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British Steel halts redundancy plans after government rescue

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Union welcomes announcement company is closing consultation on laying off up to 2,700 Scunthorpe workers

British Steel will not continue with a consultation on making up to 2,700 steelworkers at its Scunthorpe plant redundant, after the government took control of the firm earlier this month.

The Chinese company Jingye, which promised a “new chapter” when it bought British Steel in 2020, last month proposed closing Scunthorpe’s two blast furnaces, putting the roles under threat and ending Britain’s ability to produce steel from scratch.

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Boeing investors brace for fallout from Trump tariffs

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Jets intended for Chinese airline returned to US, raising fears for planemaker as results near

Investors in Boeing are braced to learn the full impact of Donald Trump’s trade war, amid fears the US planemaker could be hit harder than first expected after jets intended for a Chinese airline were returned to the US.

A Boeing 737 Max 8 plane intended for use by a Chinese airline returned to the US on Monday from Boeing’s China finishing centre, according to flight data cited by Reuters. It followed the arrival in the US on Sunday of another 737 Max painted in the livery of China’s Xiamen Airlines at Boeing’s US production hub in Seattle.

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British Steel to deploy emergency measures to save Scunthorpe furnaces

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Firm in race against time to get key materials as business secretary says no guarantee it will get what it needs

British Steel is to deploy emergency measures in a race against time to save the blast furnaces at Scunthorpe, as the business secretary refused to guarantee the plant could get what it needed in time.

The company is understood to be looking at offers of help from more than a dozen businesses to obtain materials such as iron ore and coking coal, potentially allowing it to avoid the temporary shutdown of one of the two furnaces.

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Ministers under pressure to nationalise British Steel if crisis talks fail

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Business select committee chair joins calls for Scunthorpe steelworks to be taken into public ownership

The government is under mounting pressure to nationalise British Steel if crunch talks aimed at a rescue deal fail, as the chair of the influential business and trade select committee added his voice to those calling for the Scunthorpe steelworks to be taken into public ownership.

Jingye, the Chinese owner of the company, and the UK government were not able to reach a deal on Thursday to supply the Scunthorpe plant with crucial raw materials, with talks expected to restart on Friday.

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Apple said to be flying iPhones from India to US to avoid Trump tariffs

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Tech firm has reportedly flown 600 tonnes of handsets from Indian factories as Chinese goods face huge tariffs

Apple is reportedly chartering cargo flights to ferry iPhones from its Indian manufacturing plants to the US in an attempt to beat Donald Trump’s tariffs.

The tech company has flown 600 tonnes of iPhones, or as many as 1.5m handsets, to the US from India since March after ramping up production at its plants in the country, according to Reuters.

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Trump to reportedly cut grant for key US steel project in Vance’s home town

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Outcry as CNN reports president to stop funds for program that would have created jobs in Middletown, Ohio

Despite promises to bolster the US manufacturing industry, the Trump administration is reportedly planning to cut a key program that invests in some of the biggest manufacturing industries in the US, including in JD Vance’s home town of Middletown, Ohio.

Donald Trump is looking to slash a $500m grant from the Biden administration that was slated for Cleveland-Cliffs, a steel manufacturing giant in America’s rust belt, according to reporting from CNN. The grant was intended to help the company upgrade its ageing blast furnaces, so they would be powered by hydrogen, natural gas and electricity instead of coal, the dirtiest fossil fuel.

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Labour: changes to EV rules will have ‘negligible’ impact on UK emissions

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Transport secretary says overhaul in response to Trump tariffs supports car firms and climate goals

Labour’s changes to electric vehicle (EV) rules in response to Donald Trump’s tariffs will have a negligible impact on emissions, the transport secretary has said.

Keir Starmer has confirmed plans to boost manufacturers, including reinstating the 2030 ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars.

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Government will step in to support key industries amid tariff turmoil, says Starmer

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Carmakers will be given more flexibility over targets on transitioning to electric vehicles

Keir Starmer has said the government will step in to support key British industries, as business grapples with the economic turmoil unleashed by Donald Trump’s global tariffs.

As the government attempts to counter the impact of the White House hitting the UK with a 10% base levy on exports to the US, the prime minister will promise to help shelter vulnerable sectors and will implement key parts of the industrial strategy months early.

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Jaguar Land Rover pause US shipments to assess impact of Trump’s tariffs

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Carmaker says action will allow it to consider how to mitigate cost of 25% tariff on imports

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) will pause shipments of its UK-made cars to the US for a month as it considers how to mitigate the cost of Donald Trump’s tariffs.

The 25% tariff imposed by the US on imported cars and light trucks took effect on 3 April.

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Japan-owned UK glass factory could shut if no buyer found, risking 250 jobs

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Closure of Nippon Electric Glass plant would put further pressure on Rachel Reeves’s industrial strategy

A glass factory in Wigan that produces fibreglass for electric cars and wind turbines faces closure and the loss of 250 jobs unless its Japanese owner can find a new partner or a buyer.

In the latest blow to Britain’s industrial base, Nippon Electric Glass (NEG) announced a “strategic review” of its composites business Electric Glass Fiber UK (EGF), which it expects to last approximately two months, putting about 250 jobs at risk.

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