UK must ‘wait and see’ if Trump provides clarity on steel tariff threat
In comments overnight, the president said he will impose tariffs on steel and aluminium imports to the US.
The UK will have to “wait and see” if Donald Trump provides more clarity on his threat to impose tariffs on all steel and aluminium imports to the US, a minister has said.
In comments on his way to the Super Bowl late on Sunday, the president said he will impose 25% tariffs on “any steel coming into the United States”, adding that aluminium will also be subject to additional duties.
He did not offer any details, but did confirm he plans to announce on Tuesday or Wednesday other “reciprocal tariffs” on countries that have their own duties on US products.
The UK exported 166,433 tonnes of steel to the US in 2023, the last full year for which figures are available.
Figures from trade body UK Steel showed that in 2024 some 162,716 tonnes were sent to the US, but that does not yet include data from December.
Gareth Stace, UK Steel’s director general, warned that a decision by the US to impose tariffs would be a “devastating blow” for the industry, threatening more than £400 million-worth of exports.
Asked on Monday morning about Mr Trump’s comments, Home Office minister Dame Angela Eagle said the Government would have to “wait and see whether the president gets more specific about what he meant by that comment”.
She said: “We have a very balanced trading relationship with the US – I think £300 billion worth of trade between our countries – and I think it’s in the best interests of both of us, as longstanding allies and neighbours, that we carry on with that balanced trade.”
British officials are understood to be seeking further details regarding Mr Trump’s comments.
Mr Stace urged the Government to take action to protect the steel industry from “the fallout of rising global protectionism”, including by accelerating the introduction of a carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM).
He added: “It is deeply disappointing if President Trump sees the need to target UK steel, given our relatively small production volumes compared to major steel nations.
“The UK produces world-leading steel, supplying the US with high-quality products for defence, aerospace, stainless, and other critical sectors, materials that simply cannot be replicated elsewhere.”
Alasdair McDiarmid, assistant general secretary of the trade union Community, also called for the Government to bring forward a CBAM along with other “robust measures” to protect the industry.
He added: “At a time of uncertainty for the sector, a punitive new tariff on UK steel exports would be hugely damaging and threaten jobs. For the US it would also be self-defeating, as the UK is a leading supplier of specialist steel products required by their defence and aerospace sectors.”
The UK has so far avoided being hit with tariffs, while Mr Trump has imposed, but then delayed, duties on imports from Mexico and Canada, and has also imposed 10% levies on goods from China.
The president has previously suggested a deal could be done to exempt the UK from tariffs, while claiming Britain is “out of line” in its trading relationship with the US.
Liberal Democrats leader Sir Ed Davey urged the Prime Minister to hold crisis talks with the leaders of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to discuss the tariff threat.
He said: “Donald Trump’s latest threat of tariffs will plunge many into deep uncertainty – not least those working in our great British steel industry.
“Keir Starmer must immediately call a Four Nations summit with leaders across the United Kingdom, to agree a joint plan to protect our economy from Trump’s damaging trade war.”
