Prime minister Theresa May won’t meet any executives from Tata Steel Ltd during her two-day trip to India but talks about the future of its British steel operations are still going on, she said.
In March, Tata Steel put its British steel operations on sale following heavy losses linked to a flood of cheap Chinese imports and low demand in the region. The process was suspended in July because of uncertainty following the June Brexit vote.
The company has since said it is exploring opportunities for a partnership for its entire European steel business, and Germany’s biggest steelmaker Thyssenkrupp has said it is in talks with Tata.
“I had hoped to be able to meet the key people from Tata while I was in India, sadly the schedules don’t allow for me to do that on this particular visit but there are regular contacts between the government and Tata Steel,” May told reporters on the plane to India on Sunday, her first bilateral visit outside the EU since she took office in July.
“There continue to be those regular contacts to ensure that we maintain, as has been maintained so far, that steel production in the UK.”
Tata’s former chairman Cyrus Mistry, who was ousted in a boardroom coup last month, is due to take part in a CEO forum with May during her visit.
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