Although the US tariffs themselves have a minimal effect on the Whyalla steelworks, which is mainly focused on making railway lines and structural steel for customers in Australia, the tariffs add to the global industry uncertainty at a time when potential buyers need to carefully weigh up where to invest capital. The steelworks, previously owned by British industrialist Sanjeev Gupta, went into administration in February when the South Australian government, led by Premier Peter Malinauskas, forced the business into administration. BlueScope Steel had been a technical adviser to the Whyalla steelworks for two months from late February, working for KordaMentha to stabilise the operations. But a team of about 12 experts from BlueScope has now left the plant to alleviate concerns about potential conflicts of interest as the sale process proceeds.