Russia horror: UK factories could be forced to SHUT as Putin withholds vital raw materials

Russia: UK fracking plans 'plays into Putin' says McCarthy

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Since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his forces to march into Ukraine after months of tension surrounding military buildup, western powers have punished Moscow with harsh sanctions on its economy. Most recently the UK, US and European Union joined together to pull the plug on all Russian oil and gas in a major show of strength. This was a huge blow to Putin as fossil fuel energy makes up the bulk of Russia’s exports and gave the Kremlin significant leverage to invade Ukraine.

However, experts now fear these sanctions could to retaliation from Putin, particularly in key sectors where Russia has dominance.

Speaking to POLITICO, Make UK’s Chief Economist Seamus Levin said UK factories could be under threat as the supply of precious raw materials gets disrupted.

According to Mr Levin, metals like nickel and platinum “come almost exclusively” from Russia.

These materials are vital for the manufacturing of engine parts used for planes and cars which “need to be made to a particular spec”.

Mr Levin warned these parts are comprised of highly-specialised components that require exact kinds of metals, without which they cannot be made.

He warned that even an inability to acquire one nut or bolt could lead to chaos in factories, and “has the potential to lead to entire factories having to down tools”, POLITICO reports.

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the prices of several precious metals have hit record highs.

Aluminium and palladium both hit record highs on Monday, according to Reuters.

Meanwhile, nickel, which is also used to make stainless steel, broke records on Tuesday by crossing the $100,000-a-tonne level for the first time ever.

On Tuesday, the UK Government announced that it will completely phase out Russian energy products by the end of 2022.

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng shared the announcement on Twitter, saying: “NEW – the UK will phase out the import of Russian oil and oil products by the end of 2022.

“This transition will give the market, businesses and supply chains more than enough time to replace Russian imports – which make up 8% of UK demand.

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“Businesses should use this year to ensure a smooth transition so that consumers will not be affected.

“The government will also work with companies through a new Taskforce on Oil to support them to make use of this period in finding alternative supplies.”

However, Mr Levin warned this move could further add to the costs faced by British companies, particularly in an interconnected supply chain.

He said: “We don’t import a huge amount of energy from Russia directly.

“But most of our continental partners do.

“If they’re scrambling around for new energy sources that’s likely to lead to wholesale price increases for us as well. So there will be knock-on effects.”

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