UK officials ‘engaging with US’ following Trump’s shock steel tariff announcement
31 May 2025, 12:31 | Updated: 2 June 2025, 12:08
LBC understands UK officials will speak to the US at the earliest opportunity to understand the implications of Donald Trump's latest steel tariffs.
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This is different from the "sources" Sky spoke to who said Britain wouldn't be affected.
The US President said he will double the tax on the metal imports to 50 per cent from Wednesday.
He added the move would help boost the local steel industry and national supply.
The UK agreed a trade deal with the US last month which brought the levies on those metals to zero -but it's yet to come into force.
Now, a Government spokesperson has said: “The UK was the first country to secure a trade deal with the US earlier this month and we remain committed to protecting British business and jobs across key sectors, including steel.”
“We are engaging with the US on the implications of the latest tariff announcement and to provide clarity for industry.”
Trump sparked turmoil in global markets earlier this year as he slapped a 10% tariff on almost every country.
This announcement is the latest twist in his rollercoaster approach to tariffs since returning to the White House.
Speaking on Friday evening at a US Steel facility in Pennsylvania, Trump announced the US would "be imposing a 25% increase”.
“We’re going to bring it from 25% to 50%, the tariffs on steel into the United States of America, which will even further secure the steel industry in the United States.
"Nobody’s going to get around that,” he added in his speech.
Read more: China hits back at Trump after he accuses it of 'totally violating' tariff agreement
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It comes after a temporary pause was put on a lower-court ruling that blocked most of Trump's tariffs earlier this week.
A ruling by the US Court of International Trade found that the President did not have the unilateral authority to issue tariffs for nearly every country.
On Wednesday night, three federal court judges blocked his global tariffs as result.
But the Trump administration told the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit it would seek “emergency relief” from the Supreme Court as early as Friday if the ruling was not quickly paused.