FRANKFURT/LONDON -- With Britain set to vote Thursday on whether to remain in the European Union, the country has seen its fair share of political drama recently. But the turmoil is not just limited to the country's political sphere: The steel industry is also in chaos, with the planned pullout of India-based Tata Steel from the U.K. likely to have a big impact not only there but throughout the EU, where 330,000 people have jobs in the sector.

Geert Van Poelvoorde, executive vice president of ArcelorMittal and president of the European Steel Association, or Eurofer, was in Brussels in April for an annual steel conference organized by the industry body. He said that cheap steel from China was hurting European steelmakers, and that some 80,000 jobs, or 20% of total European steel industry employment, have been lost since the global financial crisis erupted in 2008.

Van Poelvoorde also complained that the EU was slow to take action to counter Chinese steel dumping. While the U.S. has increased tariffs on Chinese steel products to some 260%, levies in Europe have remained at 30% to 60%.

He cited Tata's possible departure from the U.K. as clear evidence of how bad things are getting. The company's British operations, which have the second-largest output capacity in Europe, have pummeled by cheap imports from China, posting losses for years. The Indian parent announced plans in late March to sell the local business.

At the entrance of the conference venue was a sign reading "Save Our Steel." Similar signs can be spotted in the Welsh town of Port Talbot, home to a Tata plant. The region has relied heavily on Tata's steel business, and scared plant workers have been protesting the planned pullout ever since the announcement.

So far, British commodities trader Liberty House and others have volunteered to buy Tata's U.K. unit, while local plant workers have proposed retaining the business through a management buyout. Negotiations have been slow and difficult, however. Tata initially planned to finalize its decision soon after the Brexit poll, but July is now looking more likely.

If the Port Talbot plant, the U.K.'s largest steel factory, is shuttered, the country's economy will certainly feel it. According to British think tank Institute for Public Policy Research, the closure would affect 15,000 workers at Tata's locations across the U.K. and possibly threaten another 40,000 in related industries.

Tata entered the U.K. by acquiring what was once the state-owned British Steel. According to a survey by YouGov, a British research company, more than 60% of people in the U.K. support the nationalization of Tata's U.K. unit. There appears to be a special attachment among the British to the steel industry, which helped drive the economy during the Industrial Revolution.

But when talk of nationalization first came up, British Prime Minister David Cameron noted that it went against the country's long-term efforts to promote privatization. The tone changed in April, when the government announced its intention to purchase a stake of up to 25% in the local British unit, in response to growing calls for a rescue measure to retain jobs.

Published Date:2016-06-23