UK steelmakers name Trump doubling tariffs ‘one other physique blow’ | EUROtoday

UK steelmakers mentioned US President Donald Trump’s determination to double import taxes on metal and aluminium to 50% is “yet another body blow” to the trade.

Trade group UK Steel warned some orders could possibly be delayed or cancelled, with uncertainty surrounding some shipments that are already midway throughout the Atlantic.

Trump’s new 50% import tax will come into impact on Wednesday. It will change the 25% import tax that the US president introduced earlier this yr.

A UK authorities spokesperson mentioned it was participating with the US on the implications of the most recent tariff announcement to offer readability to the trade.

The US agreed on 8 May to drop import taxes on UK metal as a part of a commerce cope with the UK, however the authentic 25% tariff has been stored in place whereas the main points of the deal are labored out.

UK Steel director common Gareth Stace mentioned: “The deal that Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and President Donald Trump struck just a few short weeks ago is yet to be finalised, so this doubling of tariffs plunges the UK steel industry further into confusion…it is yet another body blow for all UK steelmakers in this torrid time.

“UK metal firms are this morning fearful that orders will now be cancelled, a few of that are possible being shipped throughout the Atlantic as we communicate.”

Mr Stace said the trade group would now be “urgent our authorities to finalise the settlement to get rid of UK metal import tax and for it to return into impact urgently”.

“UK steelmakers mustn’t should shell out for this new steep hike in US metal tariffs – all we wish is to proceed producing the metal our US clients worth so extremely,” he said.

A spokesperson for the UK government said: “The UK was the primary nation to safe a commerce cope with the US earlier this month and we stay dedicated to defending British enterprise and jobs throughout key sectors, together with metal.”

The Guardian reported on Saturday that UK business secretary Jonathan Reynolds will meet his US counterpart Jamieson Greer at an OECD meeting – a global policy forum – in Paris next week, where they will seek to agree a timeline for exempting the UK from the US steel tariffs.

The UK exports a relatively small amount of steel and aluminium to the US – about £700m-worth a year in total – but it is an important market.

The UK situation should be relatively simple to resolve but until details of the UK-US deal are worked out, business with America is about to become more complicated and more expensive. It is unclear how long for.

The type of specialist steel the UK exports to America – which is often used in things like nuclear submarines – means the US would struggle to source it elsewhere.

Tariff-free commerce is mutually useful. But that is one more reminder that with Trump, nothing may be dominated out.