Anglo-Dutch steel maker Corus is set to warn that five of its steelworks and over 18,000 more jobs are under threat due to tough trade proposals being drawn up in the United States, the Independent on Sundayhas reported.
The potential job cuts follow 6,000 losses in Britain announced earlier this year, which were a result of tough market conditions.
The paper said the latest threat comes from the US International Trade Commission, which is investigating whether it should impose tough import quotas or tariffs on steel imports.
Corus exports 1.3 million tonnes of steel a year to the US, around 6.5 per cent of its total production.
The restrictions, if imposed, would hit Corus's plants in Rotherham, Stocksbridge, Teeside and Scunthorpe in northern England and Ijmuiden in the Netherlands, which together employ over 18,000 people.
Corus was formed in 1999 from the merger of formerly state-owned British Steel and Dutch firm Hoogovens.