The United Kingdom could be the first G7 nation not to manufacture its own steel, with a major steel firm blaming President Donald Trump’s tariffs for the planned closure of its two blast furnaces. 

British Steel, which is owned by Jingye, the Chinese steel group, announced plans to close its two blast furnaces in England, The Telegraph reported. The closures put 2,700 jobs at risk and the end of steel production in the United Kingdom after 150 years. Jingye bought British Steel in 2020. 

Jingye said the “imposition of tariffs” had made the blast furnaces and steel-making operations “no longer financially sustainable”. 

THE LEFT THINKS TRUMP’S TARIFFS ARE A DECLARATION OF WAR. BUT THEY’RE CLUELESS ABOUT THE BATTLEFIELD

Trump has imposed 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports to the United States that went into effect earlier this month.

Jingye said it has invested billions of dollars to maintain operations since 2020 but that losses have ballooned to around hundred of thousands of dollars daily.

The closures could have national security implications. 

“There is a reason why Russia bombed all the blast furnaces in Ukraine pretty much straight away; because countries need steel not just for defense but to build the roads and the infrastructure,” said Sarah Jones, the energy minister. 

Roy Rickhuss, general secretary of the Community union, said: “We urge Jingye and the government to get back around the table to resume negotiations before it is too late.”

TRUMP’S 25% TARIFF INCREASE ON ALL STEEL, ALUMINUM IMPORTS TAKES EFFECT, PROMPTING RETALIATION FROM EUROPE

President Donald Trump speaks to an audience.  (Donald Trump/Truth Social)

“Given that we are now on the cusp of becoming the only G7 country without domestic primary steelmaking capacity, it is no exaggeration to say that our national security is gravely threatened,” he added.

Trump has fought to keep U.S. Steel in American hands. Nippon Steel, a Japanese company, said it was willing to increase investment in U.S. Steel facilities to $7 billion as it tries to convince Trump thah the Pittsburgh steelmaker would be in good hands with foreign ownership. 

“We are also going to keep U.S. Steel right here in America,” Trump said during a September 2024 campaign rally. 

Trump first opposed the deal in February 2024, but said earlier this year that Nippon would negotiate an investment in U.S. Steel, rather than a purchase, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported. 

DEVELOPING STORYDEVELOPING STORY,

Myanmar’s military rulers say at least 1,002 people killed following earthquake that also left at least 10 dead in Thailand’s capital, Bangkok.

The death toll from a huge earthquake that hit Myanmar and Thailand has passed 1,000, as rescuers dug through the rubble of collapsed buildings in a desperate search for survivors.

At least 1,002 people were killed and nearly 2,376 injured in Myanmar’s Mandalay region – the country’s second-largest city and close to the epicentre of the quake – the country’s military government said in a statement on Saturday.

“It was a pretty uncomfortable night for lots of people. They chose to sleep outside. We saw them in parks putting mattresses outside their homes,” Al Jazeera’s Tony Cheng reported from the capital Naypyidaw.

“There were still aftershocks, several we felt this morning. They were not significantly large ones, but enough to make people feel uncomfortable returning into built-up structures,” he added.

In the Thai capital Bangkok – located 1,000km (620 miles) from the epicentre in Myanmar – about 10 more deaths have been confirmed.

“Infrastructure such as roads, bridges, and buildings were affected, leading to casualties and injuries among civilians. Search and rescue operations are currently being carried out in the affected areas,” Myanmar’s military said in the statement, which raised the death toll sharply from a previously reported 144 deaths.

The shallow 7.7-magnitude quake struck northwest of the city of Sagaing in central Myanmar in the early afternoon on Friday, followed minutes later by a 6.7-magnitude aftershock.

The quake destroyed buildings, downed bridges, and buckled roads across swathes of Myanmar, and due to patchy communications in remote areas, many believe the true scale of the disaster has yet to emerge.

Rescuers in Bangkok laboured through the night on Friday searching for workers trapped when a 30-storey skyscraper under construction collapsed, reduced in seconds to a pile of rubble and twisted metal by the force of the shaking.

Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt said that about 10 people had been confirmed killed across the city, most in the skyscraper collapse. But up to 100 workers were still unaccounted for at the building site, close to the Chatuchak weekend market that is a magnet for tourists.

“We are doing our best with the resources we have because every life matters,” Chadchart told reporters at the scene.

“Our priority is acting as quickly as possible to save them all,” the governor said.

Bangkok city authorities said they will deploy more than 100 engineers to inspect buildings for safety across the city after receiving more than 2,000 reports of damage.