If new Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s vision for national and regional economic renewal is to succeed, government must match its ambitions with practical support for the foundation sectors that underpin it. And according to Martin Casey, Senior Director, Cement and Lime at the Mineral Products Association, that includes plugging the gaps in UK carbon border policy to level the playing field with imports.
Reindustrialisation is high on Andy Burnham’s economic to-do list. And rightly so – it will be the key to unlocking good growth in every postcode, especially in former industrial heartlands in the Midlands, North and devolved nations. But Burnham’s ability to deliver on the national stage hinges on whether he can create a competitive environment for the foundation sectors that provide the materials security on which growth depends.
Cement is one of these foundation sectors. As a main ingredient in concrete, it will be vital for the Prime Minister’s building ambitions, whether that’s new council houses, getting energy and transport infrastructure projects off the ground or delivering the Defence Investment Plan. However, like several other manufacturing industries, cement is facing serious competitiveness challenges, largely driven by carbon and energy costs that many products made overseas do not face.
One of the biggest looming issues is the UK Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), due to come into force on 1 January 2027. It needs to be watertight to ensure that imported products pay a comparable carbon cost to those produced domestically. Designed effectively, it can help create a fairer environment for British manufacturers. If not, it risks accelerating the very industrial decline that policymakers are trying to put a stop to. Unfortunately, there are concerns that the UK CBAM as currently set out won’t be up to the job. We have the time to act but the new administration needs to grasp the nettle now.
A foundation sector under pressure
Carbon border taxes work – and that’s a problem for UK manufacturers. Government data shows that trade flows are already being disrupted following the EU’s CBAM launch at the start of 2026. Cement imports to the UK from non-European countries hit a ten year high in March, suggesting that businesses are diverting their product to avoid paying additional EU charges. That could include more cement coming to the UK from places using coal powered electricity/kilns.
The latest trade numbers provide clear evidence of what a well-designed policy can do, and of course the risks of getting it wrong. The problem for domestic cement producers is that this hole in current legislation is compounded by wider competitiveness barriers and mounting costs. Recent Mineral Products Association (MPA) data shows that climate and energy policies now cost the cement sector £82m a year – almost double the burden faced a decade ago (£45m). That’s despite cement and concrete producers investing to decarbonise faster than the UK economy as a whole since 1990, cutting emissions by 63%.
The challenge is not limited to climate policy. It’s well documented that British producers face some of the highest industrial electricity prices in the world, while cement specifically remains excluded from the Energy Intensive Industries (EII) compensation scheme despite meeting previous government criteria.
The cumulative impact of these issues seriously risks shifting cement production overseas and offshoring emissions, undermining an industry that provides skilled jobs, supports local economies and supplies the essential materials needed to deliver the UK’s growth ambitions.
Getting CBAM right
The UK CBAM launch is a prime opportunity for the Prime Minister’s new team to show that they are serious about reindustrialisation and levelling the playing field for British makers.
Recent developments have been encouraging, with government moving away from a measurement model based on global average emissions that could allow some importers to underpay, and towards a traded-weight average. But there’s still a real lack of certainty on how the policy will work in practice when it kicks in in less than five months’ time.
Government has indicated that CBAM may initially be introduced as a minimum viable product, with further refinements made following consultation with industry after launch. While ongoing collaboration is welcome, we should be aiming to iron out as many issues as possible before implementation. Businesses need certainty to plan, invest and comply with the new regime and known weaknesses should be addressed now rather than after the system is live.
The EU’s experience demonstrates the value of getting the details right. Before its own CBAM was introduced on 1 January 2026, the bloc ran a transitional phase for more than two years, during which importers reported the embodied emissions of their products without facing a financial charge. This provided an opportunity to refine the methodology and identify any unintended consequences before the levy took effect.
The UK no longer has enough time to replicate this approach. However, there’s a strong case for using the rest of 2026 to test calculations, improve understanding of how the mechanism will operate and provide greater clarity on default values and reporting requirements. Doing so would help both domestic producers and importers prepare for the changes ahead and increase confidence that the scheme will deliver its intended objectives.
Burnham is right to put reindustrialisation at the heart of his economic vision, but it requires a thriving base of industries that provide the materials, jobs and skills from which growth flows. The lack of clarity on CBAM is symptomatic of the wider gaps in UK industrial policy. Plugging them is not just about supporting one industry; it is about creating the conditions for foundation sectors to compete fairly and power the economic growth Britain needs. If policymakers are serious about rebuilding our industrial strength, they must ensure that cement and industries like it have the confidence to invest, decarbonise and grow. Reindustrialisation, like anything built to last, depends on strong foundations.
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