Deal latest in efforts to settle trade spats with allies
The US on Tuesday announced an agreement with Britain to end tariffs on steel and aluminum imports imposed by former president Donald Trump.
“By allowing for a flow of duty-free steel and aluminum from the UK, we further ease the gap between supply and demand for these products in the United States,” Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said in a statement.
“And by removing the UK’s retaliatory tariffs, we reopen the British market to beloved American products.”
The deal was the latest in a series of efforts by President Joe Biden to settle trade spats with US allies, some of which were long-running and others started under the Trump administration.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson cheered the announcement of the deal “with our American friends.”
“This is fantastic news and a very welcome boost to our steel and aluminum industries,” he said on Twitter.
Washington and London in January announced the start of negotiations to end the dispute, which began in 2018 when Trump imposed levies of 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum imports from Britain and other nations to protect US industry.
The Biden administration in October reached a deal to end the tariffs on the European Union, and in early February did the same with Japan.
Under the deal announced Tuesday, Britain will lift retaliatory tariffs it imposed on $500 million in American imports, including alcohol and consumer goods, the statement said.
Britain’s International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan, who met with Raimondo in Washington to finalize the agreement, said the deal was “good news for our steel and aluminum industries who have been unfairly hit by these tariffs, and the 80,000 people employed across the sector.”
US industry was more cautious in its praise, noting the benefits the tariffs provided to aluminum and steel manufacturers.
The announcement followed two days of talks between US Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Trevelyan in the port city of Baltimore on the broader trade relationship.
In a statement, Tai said the deal to remove the metal tariffs “delivers on President Biden’s vision to repair relationships with our allies while also helping to ensure the long-term viability of our steel and aluminum industries.”
Trevalyan and Tai said they would continue their talks in Scotland in April.
“Hopefully we can now move forward and focus on deepening our thriving trading relationship with the US,” the British official said.
However, there was no indication of progress toward a free trade agreement between the two countries – a priority of Britain following its departure from the European Union.
Marjorie Chorlins, senior vice president for European Affairs at the US Chamber of Commerce, who took part in discussions in Baltimore on Monday, said a trade pact is not likely “at least not anytime soon.”
US President Donald Trump speaks at a meeting with leaders of the steel and aluminum industries at the White House in Washington, DC on Thursday. Photo: VCG
