UK 'not expected' to join EU in retaliating against Trump's 25% tariffs on steel and aluminium
11 February 2025, 06:47 | Updated: 11 February 2025, 11:44
The UK is not expected to join its European allies in retaliating against the US after Donald Trump announced fresh 25 per cent tariffs on steel imports.
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Speaking from the White House on Monday evening, the US president said: "Today I'm simplifying our tariffs on steel and aluminium.
"It's 25% without exceptions or exemptions."
As he signed the order, Mr Trump said: "It's a big deal. This is the beginning of making America rich again."
He added: "Our nation requires steel and aluminium to be made in America, not in foreign lands.”
The European Union has slammed the decision, saying there is “no justification” for it.
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“We will react to protect the interests of European businesses, workers and consumers from unjustified measures,” it said.
France’s President Macron warned his country will go “head to head” with the US on any tariffs Trump implements, while Germany’s Olaf Scholz said: “Anyone who imposes tariffs must expect counter-tariffs.”
However, according to Government sources, the UK will not be imposing counter-tariffs on the US - despite the devastating impact Trump’s decision could have on the British steel industry.
Ahead of the announcement, the beleaguered British steel industry body called for decisive action from ministers while unions warned further jobs could be put at risk in a sector which has already suffered badly in recent years.
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.
The US is the industry's second-largest export market after the EU, although the Government said it only accounted for 5% of UK steel exports in 2023.
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UK Steel director general Gareth Stace said that tariffs "would be a devastating blow to our industry" and "damage over £400 million worth of the steel sector's contribution to the UK's balance of trade".
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."
There are fears within the industry that US tariffs could also see exports from other countries - such as China - diverted to the UK, heaping further pressure on the domestic industry.
Alasdair McDiarmid, assistant general secretary at trade union Community, said: "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."
Unite union general secretary Sharon Graham said: "Donald Trumps's steel tariff threat should be a wake-up call for this Government. I have long been calling for the steel industry to be classified as critical national infrastructure - just as it is in the US.
"UK steel production is a matter of national security. We now need to change the rules to ensure that the public sector buys UK produced steel, wherever it is available. This will create jobs and drive growth."
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Downing Street said the UK and US "work closely together on a range of economic issues, supporting jobs" on both sides of the Atlantic.
"I haven't seen any detailed proposals following the reporting overnight, but we will obviously engage as appropriate," the Prime Minister's official spokesman said.
He added that he would not be drawn into saying whether the UK would retaliate in the event the US did impose tariffs, describing the question as hypothetical.
The UK steel industry was hit with tariffs in 2018 during Mr Trump's first term in office, but those import taxes were eased in 2022.
So far in his second term in the White House, 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."
