BRITISH steelmaking is not a sunset industry but faces potential ruin unless the Government takes swift and positive action, it has been claimed.

A cross-party report today warns the sector stands at a fork in the road, with worries over energy costs, Chinese imports, trade deals and skills shortages hampering companies’ progress.

And, in a repeat of calls that followed the collapse of SSI UK’s Redcar steelworks, the report urges Downing Street to consider financial intervention if a business is mothballed.

The pleas come from the all-party parliamentary group on steel and metal-related industries (APPG), chaired by North-East MP Tom Blenkinsop, which says action is needed if the steel sector is to survive in a post-Brexit era.

The steel industry’s woes have hit the North-East hard, with SSI’s liquidation, which left thousands redundant, compounded by the closure of Caparo Industries’ Hartlepool forge.

Mr Blenkinsop, MP for Middlesbrough South and east Cleveland, and APPG chairman, said those losses were worrying reminders of a sector on a knife-edge.

However, he said examples of a positive future still exist, pointing to Greybull Capital’s deal to take over Tata Steel’s Long Products Division, which employs hundreds across the North-East, and Liberty House’s interest in sections of Tata’s Hartlepool pipe mills business.

But Mr Blenkinsop, who previously told The Northern Echo ministers must not treat the steel sector as a “basket case”, said the latter deals must not be taken as cases of the industry stabilising.

In the report, which is supported by Redcar MP Anna Turley, he said: “The UK steel industry has reached a fork in the road.

“The closure of Redcar steelworks and ongoing challenges facing Tata have demonstrated beyond question it is an industry in crisis.

“To do nothing will have a devastating impact on communities, businesses and the economy.

“But there is another path, requiring essential work, vision and collaboration.”

The report said Brexit would add further difficulties to the industry but also create opportunities, most notably around steel becoming central to negotiations on future trade agreements.

However, Mr Blenkinsop said it was also imperative conclusive action was taken to end lingering distress over expensive energy costs and cheap Chinese imports, and that steps are taken to help get more UK steel into local authority projects.

He said: “The industry and its communities are in an increasingly and unrelentingly precarious position.

“But revitalising it presents a great opportunity; the industry can and must be at the heart of the modern manufacturing renaissance the UK requires.

“That’s why the APPG calls for the Government to publish annual comparisons of steel industry energy prices with that of key competitors and develop mechanisms for steel producers to access lower priced wholesale energy.

“It should act rapidly to end uncertainty about future trade agreements and make clear steel will be a priority area while securing the best possible access to the single market.

“The APPG also calls on the Government to take supportive action against unfair and illegal steel trade, notably the illegal dumping of Chinese steel.

“That would be done by opposing the granting of Market Economy Status for China and working with European partners to ensure the implementation of tariffs on Chinese steel will guarantee free and fair trade.

“These measures will ensure a steel industry with a real long-term commitment to the UK economy.”

The report also advised the Government to create a plan to cater for a business’ mothballing.

When SSI’s Redcar business, which suffered financial difficulties throughout its existence, crumbled, Downing Street was criticised for a lack of support over a request for the taxpayer to make an open-ended funding commitment to maintain its coke ovens.

Critics said such a move could have salvaged the business in the short-term and provided hope for its future.

In the APPG report, members reference potential future backing for firms who have fallen on hard times.

It added: “The Government should consider intervening in incidents of corporate failure with an active financially-underpinned mothballing strategy.”