Trump's new 50 per cent tariff will come into effect on Wednesday (June 4, 2025), to replace the 25 per cent import tax that the US president announced earlier this year, and that only came into effect in March, 2025.
Despite the Prime Minister and the President’s agreement that UK steel imports would no longer face an import charge – announced on May 8, 2025 – the original 25 per cent import tax has remained in place while officials finalise the details of the decision.
UK Steel said it understands the new 50 per cent charge will likely affect all UK steelmakers’ US imports from this Wednesday, and warned that some orders could be delayed or cancelled, with uncertainty surrounding some shipments which are already halfway across the Atlantic.
A UK Government spokesperson said it was engaging with the US on the implications of the latest tariff announcement to provide more clarity to the industry.
"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," Gareth Stace, UK Steel Director-General, said in a statement.
“UK Steel is now pressing our Government to finalise the agreement to eliminate UK steel import tax and for it to come into effect urgently. UK steelmakers should not have to shell out for this new steep hike in US steel tariffs. All we want is to continue producing the steel our US customers value so highly.”
Business secretary Jonathan Reynolds will meet his US counterpart Jamieson Greer at an OECD meeting – a global policy forum – in Paris next week, it has been reported, where they will seek to agree a timeline for exempting the UK from the US steel tariffs.
"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," a Government spokesperson added.
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