Housing secretary Michael Gove has warned US-based cladding provider Arconic that it may possibly count on “business penalties” if it doesn’t decide to contributing to the prices of remediating unsafe buildings.

The agency manufactured and bought the flammable cladding that was used on Grenfell Tower. However Gove has mentioned on Twitter that Arconic had “not taken any duty – ethical or monetary – for his or her position within the Grenfell tragedy and constructing security disaster”.

In a letter to its chief government Timothy Myers, Gove wrote that the corporate had “failed to interact in a significant means in any a part of the industry-wide negotiations that happened in 2022”.

He added that he was “appalled” by proof from the Grenfell Tower Inquiry in regards to the extent that Arconic staff had gone to “to hide the flammable nature of your merchandise, and to keep away from selling fire-retardant merchandise to prospects – as a result of doing so would cut back your earnings”.

Gove invited Myers to fulfill officers “to clarify how you propose to scope, determine and pay for remediation works”.

He mentioned that “a complete package deal of economic help” was required from building product producers, warning that “corporations that don’t share our dedication to righting wrongs of the previous should count on to face business penalties”.

Gove’s letter additionally says that Arconic’s annual stories revealed that between 2017 and 2022 it had spent a mean of £8.9m a yr on “authorized recommendation and illustration on Grenfell-related issues”.

“In stark distinction,” the letter provides, “you haven’t contributed any funding – not a single greenback or cent – in direction of the price of fixing harmful buildings, even supposing your flammable merchandise proceed to place lives in danger in the UK at the moment”.

Gove has given the agency till 12 April to reply. On Twitter, he said that he would “use all instruments at my disposal to make [Arconic] pay”.

Arconic has confronted criticism for its strategy to taking part within the Grenfell Inquiry. Quite a few its executives refused to return to the UK to provide proof, claiming this might depart them open to prosecution beneath French regulation.

Gove’s transfer follows his menace to forestall housebuilders from constructing houses if they don’t pledge to pay remediation cash – in addition to the same letter he despatched final week to Kingspan, which made flamable insulation used on Grenfell Tower.

Within the letter, Gove credited Kingspan with taking a “optimistic step” in acknowledging that it ought to pay the place its cladding had been used inappropriately. He added: “I sincerely hope it’s a first step solely” and invited the corporate to fulfill his officers for discussions on contributing to remediation prices.