UK 'ready to work with Trump' on steel tariffs government pledges as ministers pledge 'cool and clearheaded' response
11 February 2025, 16:25
The UK is "ready to work" with Donald Trump after the US president announced global steel tariffs as the latest move in the global trade crisis.
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Trade minister Douglas Alexander said Britain “stands ready” to find solutions that work for both countries after the White House imposed a 25 per cent global tariff on steel and threatened additional duties on aluminium.
Downing Street insisted the UK's special relationship with the US is "very good" despite fears Britain's steel industry will be hit by the tariffs . EU President Ursula von der Leyen warned Trump’s “unjustified” tariffs “will not go unanswered”.
Read More: UK 'not expected' to join EU in retaliating against Trump's 25% tariffs on steel and aluminium
Trade minister Douglas Alexander told MPs that the Government would adopt a "cool and clearheaded" approach rather than rushing into retaliatory measures.
Ministers are holding talks with the industry before the commencement of the tariffs on US steel imports from March 12.
Mr Alexander said: "What British industry needs and deserves is not a knee-jerk reaction, but a cool and clearheaded sense of the UK's national interest based on a full assessment of all the implications of the US actions."
He added that the UK had a "strong and balanced trade relationship" with the US.
"We stand ready to work with President Trump to find solutions that work for both the United Kingdom and the United States," he added.
Britain exported 166,433 tonnes of steel to the US in 2023, the last full year for which figures are available.
Downing Street has declined to say whether Donald Trump is wrong to impose 25 per cent tariffs on British steel exports.
Asked if the US President’s decision was wrong, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman replied: “We will take a considered approach to this. We will engage with the US on the detail, but the Government is clear we will work in our national interest and this issue is no different to that.”
The spokesman said he was not going to “get ahead of those conversations with industry” when asked if the UK was prepared to enact retaliatory tariffs.
No 10 would not reveal if discussions with the US involved the UK asking Mr Trump’s Government to exclude Britain from the tariffs, and would not say if subsidies for the company British Steel could be introduced.
He added: “We’ve already provided significant support to the UK steel industry: £2.5 billion of investment in the sector, we are bringing forward a British industry supercharger which is cutting electricity costs for steel firms and bringing prices in line with international competitors.”
Inga Fechner and Ewa Manthey, from major European bank ING, warned that “a clash between the USA and Europe is inevitable”
They said: “President Trump has laid the foundations for further trade escalations. This will not be the last tariff move. Retaliation is on, and it’s going to get nasty.”
The European Commission has warned that it will not hesitate to retaliate against fresh tariffs.
“The EU sees no justification for the imposition of tariffs on its exports. We will react to protect the interests of European businesses, workers and consumers from unjustified measures,” the Commission said.
Mr Trump has indicated that he examining further tariffs on the EU and has said he will soon impose reciprocal tariffs on all countries, matching the tariffs levied by them.
Last night, he confirmed that he would impose blanket 25pc tariffs on steel and aluminium imports into the US, including from Europe.
Mr Trump has repeatedly criticised the European Union, saying they “don’t take our cars, they don’t take our farm products. They take almost nothing and we take everything from them”.
