{"text":[[{"start":9.1,"text":"UK manufacturers and construction groups will be hit by “significant financial and logistical problems” as a result of ministers’ plans to double tariffs on steel imports from July, the country’s largest business lobby has warned. "}],[{"start":22.549999999999997,"text":"The British Chambers of Commerce is seeking an urgent meeting with Peter Kyle, the business and trade secretary, to push him to “reconsider” measures set out by the government in March to protect the steel industry, according to a letter seen by the FT. "}],[{"start":37,"text":"From July 1, the UK intends to cut the quota of tariff-free steel by 60 per cent and double tariffs on all other imports to 50 per cent, in a move that the industry has said will hammer manufacturers dependent on steel imports."}],[{"start":52.25,"text":"The new tariffs are designed to protect the UK’s embattled steelmaking industry, which Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer this week sought to bolster with legislation to nationalise British Steel. "}],[{"start":63.05,"text":"But manufacturing lobby groups insist they will inflict severe damage on manufacturers in sectors such as carmaking, aerospace and medical technology that rely on imported steel products made outside the country."}],[{"start":75.3,"text":"In a letter to Kyle, BCC director-general Shevaun Haviland said the measures, which would bring the UK in line with EU and US schemes designed to defend steelmakers from a global glut of cheap Chinese steel imports, risked “economic damage in key supply chains”."}],[{"start":91.94999999999999,"text":"“The revised quotas and tariffs have the potential to create significant financial and logistical problems for downstream sectors using steel,” she wrote. "}],[{"start":100.94999999999999,"text":"Haviland called for the overall cuts to tariff-free steel quota levels to be revised and for the transition period for the introduction of revised quotas and tariffs to rise from three to 12 months. "}],[{"start":112.64999999999999,"text":"Multiple BCC members had voiced concerns about the impact of tariffs, including a business in south-west England that quoted £1mn in July last year to build a new warehouse but has since increased the quote to £1.4mn."}],[{"start":127.85,"text":"Other businesses such as West Midlands-based Swiss Steel Group, which imports high-grade stainless steel and specialist alloys for the aerospace and medtech industries, said the new tariffs and quotas posed a serious threat to manufacturing in the UK. "}],[{"start":142,"text":"“This is a real mess. We’ll just be applying a 50 per cent tax to metals we can’t make, so the government is undermining their own manufacturing sector,” said Nick Whitehouse, managing director. "}],[{"start":153.35,"text":"The new tariffs will not apply to components manufactured from steel, handing producers in Europe a further advantage given the UK’s lack of steel manufacturing capacity. "}],[{"start":163.2,"text":"Stephen Morley, president of the Confederation of British Metalforming, said the new tariffs would put “severe pressure” on manufacturers. “The UK risks accelerating the decline of its manufacturing base rather than preserving it,” he added."}],[{"start":177.39999999999998,"text":"Trade groups in Northern Ireland said they were particularly exposed because the region, a centre of UK manufacturing, was entirely reliant on imports for its steel."}],[{"start":187.59999999999997,"text":"Mark McCausland, managing director of importer Sebden Steel, said clients were warning that they planned to source finished components from Asia to avoid the tariffs. “Once UK plc loses this business, it will never come back,” he said."}],[{"start":201.94999999999996,"text":"Stephen Kelly, chief executive of Manufacturing NI, said the offshoring of production to cheaper Asian manufacturing hubs posed an “existential crisis” for a key engine of the region’s export economy. "}],[{"start":214.59999999999997,"text":"The Department for Business and Trade said the planned changes aimed to “strike the right balance” between protecting UK steel production and securing supplies for the UK. "}],[{"start":223.44999999999996,"text":"“We continue to take feedback from industry as we implement the measure, and we will conduct a review after 12 months to ensure it remains effective,” a spokesperson added."}],[{"start":239.14999999999995,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1778737623_7119.mp3"}