More steelwork jobs to go

[Eric Arthur 10]

Industrial wisdom is that the UK needs to compete by having high value goods and services, not pig iron foundries.

 

To do that we need highly educated and talented people. This conversation thread seems to show that we've doomed.

[ricgem2002 11]

You are writing on your Chinese computer that you want us to have a trade embargo on China. Good luck with that.

 

Back here on planet Earth the Chinese steel is still half price and the computers are even cheaper.

 

so I take it your all for british companies competing at a disadvantage with foreign competitors:roll:

[Treeman893 10]

My issue is that China does not operate as we do. Decisions are not made by businesses but by the local government official. I was buying off China 10 years ago and they would sell at whatever price you wanted because they wanted exports. They would not export steel then as the wanted it for their own production

Now the same officials are selling steel at price below the market price.

Our government, Tories or Labour, should support out steel industry as China does theirs.

[WiseOwl182 10]

Industrial wisdom is that the UK needs to compete by having high value goods and services, not pig iron foundries.

 

To do that we need highly educated and talented people. This conversation thread seems to show that we've doomed.

 

 

I agree to an extent, but even the higher value areas of manufacturing are suffering at the moment. Why make life harder than it has to be by enforcing unnecessary green taxes around energy costs that other countries that we're competing against just don't bother with? The scale of any pollution from the remaining industry in this country pales into absolute insignificance compared with the likes of China and India. Further more, it is already heavily regulated and much safer than the unregulated pollution in developing countries. It really has no benefit, other than a slight and short term boost to the treasury and to appease those who subscribe to the man-made climate change con.

Edited October 16, 2015 by WiseOwl182

[Eric Arthur 10]

There's no benefit in going back in time to an industrial past that's best consigned to history and your opinion on environmental protection is in the minority, especially among people who know what they are talking about.

 

Even China is starting to sort out its act.

[WiseOwl182 10]

There's no benefit in going back in time to an industrial past that's best consigned to history and your opinion on environmental protection is in the minority, especially among people who know what they are talking about.

 

Even China is starting to sort out its act.

 

 

We're supposed to be rebalancing the economy. If we don't make things any more then we become too reliant on the tertiary sector, and our trade deficit will grow ever larger. It's one thing regulating against pollution, which I agree with, but burdening our industries with unnecessary green taxes is self-defeating.

[Eric Arthur 10]

They aren't unnecessary.

[WiseOwl182 10]

They aren't unnecessary.

 

Why are they necessary? So we can tax our industry out of the country? If that is the aim, it is successful, but all it has done is to displace the pollution elsewhere, to places with far less regulation and control. This is to the detriment of the environment overall, as well as our own economy - it is self-defeating.

[Eric Arthur 10]

There is endless amounts of evidence available online to tell you why. I'm not going into it here.

 

If it helps you to see the truth, China has just introduced environmental laws. China is also the largest investor in environmental industry.

[ricgem2002 11]

There is endless amounts of evidence available online to tell you why. I'm not going into it here.

 

If it helps you to see the truth, China has just introduced environmental laws. China is also the largest investor in environmental industry.

 

yes I just read that here http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/mar/05/china-vows-to-fight-pollution-with-all-our-might but still nothing being done

[Anna B 1,401]

Billions were pumped into the banking world when they had problems but zero help for a core industry that produces materials fundamental to the construction and defence fields.

 

Excellent point.

 

I seem to remember Sheffield Forgemasters being tooled up to provide the steel and castings ready for Nuclear Power stations, the only plant in Europe able to do so, but instead of investing in its own industry, the government refused, and they were unable to go ahead.

 

So now we have our Nuclear Power Stations being made by the Chinese. Am I the only one that thinks this might be a mistake on more than one front? Similarly, Sheffield's new tram-train is being produced in another country.

 

The knock on effect should be added to the overall picture. The steal might be cheaper, until you add on the cost of unemployment benefit, social problems and despondency and the cost escalates in all directions.

 

How long will it be before the people on here, (you know who you are,) are calling them scroungers and blaming them for being on benefits...

[melthebell 862]

Its weird as both the plant in the op AND also SSI in Redcar have both shut down due to the state of the market they cant compete

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-34509329

YET

 

apparently a steel plant in Wales has just restarted due to the market being favourable Oo

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-34544104

Edited October 17, 2015 by melthebell