Steel News – Early August 2025
Estimated reading time 3 minutes
UK Steel, the trade association representing Britain’s steel producers, has launched a Digital Steel Catalogue.
This new digital platform is designed to help contractors easily search for UK-made steel products and gain a clearer understanding of the construction steel offered by UK steelmakers, and will answer the needs of the Government’s ambitious new Industrial and Infrastructure Strategies.
The Digital Catalogue is at the heart of the Government’s revised procurement guidance for steel, which includes a formal requirement for steel buyers to consult the Catalogue during purchasing decisions, as well as a requirement to consider national security considerations. National security and resilience are also at the heart of a consultation on reforms to the Procurement Act launched alongside the guidance. https://www.qimtek.co.uk/news/engineering-capacity/find-uk-steel-products
British steelmakers stand to make millions extra a year as the EU gets rid of its steel tariffs today [Friday 1 August] – a direct win from the Prime Minister’s EU deal signed back in May.
This means UK steelmakers will be able to export more steel used for large building projects – like support beams – to the EU tariff-free, supporting the UK’s wider economic growth ambitions and helping deliver on the Plan for Change.
This follows the decision to take control of British Steel following years of mismanagement – a decision which saved thousands of jobs and secured Britain’s place as a steelmaker. This builds on the significant support that this pro-steel Government has already delivered — from our £500 million investment in Tata’s green steel transition and our deal with the US to reduce tariffs on UK steel.
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds is set for a showdown with the Chinese owners of British Steel after the government claimed they demanded hundreds of millions in taxpayer money for the steelworks at Scunthorpe.
A search for a new buyer has stalled after Jingye asked for the cash to complete the transfer of the company.
The government took control of British Steel in April, amid concerns that Jingye would close down the UK’s only remaining blast furnaces and put thousands of jobs at risk.
Jingye remain the official owners of British Steel after the government stopped short of fully nationalising the loss-making company, which ministers believe is worth effectively zero.
Tata Steel UK’s Chief Executive, Rajesh Nair, has been appointed Chair of UK Steel, the trade association representing the UK steel industry. He will take on the role alongside his existing responsibilities at Tata Steel UK.
With more than 36 years’ experience across the Tata Steel Group, Nair has been a key figure in reshaping the UK business since joining as Chief Operating Officer in 2021 and becoming CEO in 2023. He has overseen its transition towards low-CO₂ steelmaking and worked to secure the long-term future of domestic steel production in South Wales and beyond.
