The British government is refusing to rule out nationalizing the last plant in the U.K. that makes steel from raw materials as the global trade war increases pressure to preserve the nation’s ability to supply domestic industry with the steel it needs.

Industry Minister Sarah Jones has also sought to reassure the steel industry ahead of energy cost relief measures coming in next month

Decisions taken within the next few days will determine whether British Steel's Scunthorpe plant stays open, the BBC understands.The plant's Chinese owner, Jingye, has cancelled two cargo shipments of coking coal for the site's two blast furnaces and it has not yet paid for iron pellets that are scheduled to arrive next week.