Industry association UK Steel has said the UK government needs to implement the tariff-free agreement previously agreed with the US, following a further expansion to the Section 232 steel-derivatives list, Kallanish reports.
Earlier this week, US President Donald Trump expanded his tariffs to cover 407 additional downstream products. These include car parts, machinery, fire extinguishers, plastics and speciality chemicals containing steel or aluminium.
Despite an agreement between the US and UK happening back in May, it has yet to be implemented. UK Steel says the lag leaves domestic exports “at a disadvantage.”
The UK is currently paying a 25% tariff on steel exported to the US, whilst other countries face 50%.
In a statement, the association notes that the new duties will be applied in addition to the country rate on the non-steel and non-aluminium content, 10% in the UK’s case. That means UK exporters could face another significant cost increase when selling into the US.
Peter Brennan, UK Steel’s director of trade and economic policy, comments: “This is another blow to the ecosystem of the UK steel industry as any impact on demand for downstream products will work its way through the supply chain. At a time of weak steel demand generally, this development makes it even more important that the UK government achieves the tariff-free deal it promised for UK steel producers who depend on access to the US market.”
The statement calls for “urgent action” to secure the tariff-free access.
Carrie Bone UK
