The Vivergo bioethanol plant in Hull will close, impacting 160 jobs due to a trade deal between the UK and US, which eliminates tariffs on imported bioethanol. This agreement poses a severe threat to the UK bioethanol industry and creates uncertainty for another 4,000 jobs tied to the supply chain. The plant's owner, Associated British Foods, had been advocating for government support and a recovery plan but now finds closure inevitable. The trade deal's implications extend to wheat farmers and the UK’s clean fuels initiatives.
A spokesperson for ABF said on Friday: 'It is deeply regrettable that the government has chosen not to support a key national asset. We have been left with no choice but to announce the closure of Vivergo and we have informed our people.'
ABF had warned the US trade deal, hailed as a triumph for Starmer, was a killer blow because it scrapped tariffs on a quota of 1.4bn litres of imports from the US, the exact size of the UK production.
ABF and Ensus noted that the US deal would have a huge knock-on effect on wheat farmers who supplied their plants, as well as the UK's lead in clean fuels.
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