Tata Steel decides the fate of two UK steel mills

Tata Steel's fateful board meeting is scheduled to take place today to decide the fate of two UK steel mills. The meeting is expected to announce the company's final decision on whether to keep or sell the Scunthorpe and Port Talbot plants. Thousands of UK jobs in the sector will be at risk if Tata Steel chooses not to continue operations at these sites.

Meanwhile, British union leaders and politicians in India have sought to persuade the council not to make a decision that could affect more than 9,000 direct and indirect jobs in the region. Officials from the Union's Community held talks with senior company officials in Mumbai ahead of the board meeting.

The company's European operations this year posted a quarterly loss of £ 68 million in February, driven largely by a rise in low-cost imports from countries such as China, Russia and South Korea. Meanwhile, Tata Steel has called on the UK government to impose stricter and higher import duties on dumped imports, especially from China.

Last week, the Scottish government brokered a deal in which two Tata Steel plate processing plants were sold to Liberty Steel. In the deal, which closed on March 24, the government entered into an agreement through which the Clydebridge and Dalzell properties in Scotland were acquired and immediately sold to Liberty Steel.

Tata Steel is one of the world's most geographically diversified steel producers, with operations in 26 countries and sales offices in over 35 countries. Its three UK steel sites are Port Talbot, Rotherham and Scunthorpe.