On Tuesday 22nd April, three weeks from President
Trump's ‘Liberation Day' tariffs upended global trade systems
(and drove down the oil price), the BTC will question senior
executives from the automotive, advanced manufacturing and clean
energy sectors on the action they need from Government to address
the most pressing barriers to growth they currently
face. What are the key costs and factors hurting
their competitivity, now and into the future?
After a dramatic recall of Parliament to keep Britain's last
sovereign steel-making furnaces lit, the Committee will question
three interconnected sectors heavily dependent on steel - but
also increasingly on critical minerals, where supply is dominated
by China and also caught in the emerging global trade and tech
war.
Rt Hon , Chair of the BTC,
said: “President Trump's trade war is slamming the
brakes on global growth — and British businesses, jobs, and pay
packets are squarely in the firing line. That's why we urgently
need to hear from the industries taking the hardest hits: not
just how they can weather the storm, but how they can come out
stronger on the other side.”
“But just as Britain powers forward toward a greener future, BP
seems to be shifting into reverse — doubling down on the carbon
emissions driving extreme weather and climate chaos costs. As
ministers are putting the final touches on an industrial strategy
to make the UK a green energy superpower, we're left asking: what
will it take to get one of our biggest energy giants off the
sidelines and onto Team Green Britain?”
The CBI recently reported, pre-tariffs, that the UK's green
energy sector was growing at 3 times the rate of the wider
economy. But there have been mixed signals from successive
Governments on everything from fostering the electric vehicle
market to supply chain security.
Leading oil major BP plc, giving evidence in this session, has
famously pivoted away from its high-profile green energy strategy
and the Trump administration has set about dismantling massive
public investment in clean energy programmes.
How big is the risk to UK jobs and businesses, and conversely how
fast could these three “growth-driving sectors” drive UK
productivity gains - given the right policies and support from
Government? What does Government need to do now to drive the UK's
transition to the clean, secure, cheaper energy its industries,
business and households desperately need?
This inquiry is examining what the “right support” from
Government looks like – the policy changes and support needed now
and to shape Government proposals for a
10-year 'modern industrial strategy'.
, Chair of the Energy Security
and Net Zero Committee, will guest at this session.
On Tuesday 22 April from
2:30pm:
- Professor David Greenwood, Chief Executive Officer at Warwick
Manufacturing Group
- Brian Holliday, Managing Director, Digital Industries at
Siemens UK
- Stephen Phipson CBE, Chief Executive Officer at Make UK
At approximately 3:15pm:
- Markus Grüneisl, Chief Executive Officer at BMW (UK)
Manufacturing Ltd
-
, Assistant General
Secretary at Unite the Union
-
, Senior Vice President,
Region Manufacturing, Supply Chain & Purchasing at
Nissan
- Mike Hawes, Chief Executive at Society of Motor Manufacturers
and Traders
At approximately 4:00pm:
- Alistair McGirr, Group Head of Policy and Advocacy at
SSE
- Rob Salter-Church, Director of Regulation at National
Grid
- Louise Kingham CBE, Head of Country, UK at BP plc
Notes
- See the Committee's oral evidence from steel executives and
government ministers on
the impact of tariffs and the case for sovereign
steel-making capacity.
