UK steel firms ask about 0% US tariffs

Britain on Thursday hailed a deal with the US, which it said would reduce steel levies to 0 percent from 25 percent so that British producers could keep exporting to the United States.

However, details released late on Thursday showed the two sides must still formalize the security requirements and the quotas that the steel sector must abide by, leaving sector representatives unclear as to when levies will go.

“It’s certainly not a formality; I mean there’s clearly a lot that hasn’t been fully determined and defined in the agreement as of yet,” said Chrysa Glystra, director of trade and economic policy at industry body UK Steel.

Glystra added that firms did not know the supply chain conditions they would have to fulfill to take advantage of the tariffs.

“We don’t really have a sense of when this will take effect and what the timescales will be.”

Britain’s steel sector contributed 1.7 billion to the UK economy in 2024, 0.1 percent of total output, and the future of the industry has been in some doubt.

Kept burning

The government last month intervened to keep the blast furnaces burning at the UK’s last maker of virgin steel, seizing operational control from its Chinese owners.

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Details of the US deal released by the British government showed that access to the zero tariff was contingent on a pledge by Britain to “work to promptly meet US requirements on the security of the supply chains of steel and aluminum products intended for export to the United States and on the nature of ownership of relevant production facilities.”

“Understanding the United Kingdom will meet these requirements, the United States will promptly construct a quota,” the agreement’s General Terms said.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative said that the US and UK “will negotiate an alternative arrangement” on the steel tariff.