UK wants ‘cool and clear-headed’ response to Trump tariffs on British metal, minister says

The UK wants a “cool and clear-headed” response to Donald Trump imposing 25% tariffs on British metal exports, the commerce minister has stated.

The US president introduced the heavy levies on overseas metal and aluminium late on Monday, saying they are going to be enforced “with out exceptions or exemptions”.

UK Metal stated the tariffs “can be a devastating blow to our trade” and accused Mr Trump of taking “a sledgehammer to free commerce, with enormous ramifications for the metal sector within the UK and the world over”.

Nevertheless, commerce minister Douglas Alexander urged a “cool and clear-headed” response from the trade moderately than a “knee-jerk” response.

Talking within the Commons on Tuesday, he stated the UK “stands prepared” to search out options that work for each nations.

He stated the US had to date solely revealed particulars about tariffs on metal, not on aluminium.

Mr Alexander confirmed the enterprise secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, can be assembly the metal trade and commerce unions “inside the subsequent 24 hours”, including the UK has traditionally “benefited from a powerful and balanced commerce relationship with the US price round £300m”.

The MP, who can be a Cupboard Workplace minister, stated it was “proper and cheap to be aware” of what Mr Trump has stated and to “undertake evaluation”.

The US president “has a speciality in producing uncertainty – it is a part of his fashion of negotiations,” he added.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is hoping to go to Washington DC within the coming weeks for talks with Mr Trump, however no particulars have but been confirmed.

Downing Road declined to say whether or not Mr Trump was unsuitable to impose the tariffs, saying the federal government “will take a thought-about strategy” and can “interact with the US on the element”.

A spokesman wouldn’t reveal if discussions with the US concerned the UK asking Mr Trump to exclude Britain from the duties, and wouldn’t say if subsidies for British Metal might be launched.

He added: “We have already offered vital help to the UK metal trade: £2.5bn of funding within the sector, we’re bringing ahead a British trade supercharger which is chopping electrical energy prices for metal corporations and bringing costs according to worldwide rivals.”

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The US is the UK metal trade’s second-largest export market after the EU, though the federal government stated it solely accounted for five% of UK metal exports in 2023.

Mr Trump stated the tariffs had been wanted to guard the US metal trade and nationwide safety.

UK Metal director-general Gareth Stace stated: “President Trump has taken a sledgehammer to free commerce, with enormous ramifications for the metal sector within the UK and the world over.

“This won’t solely hinder UK exports to the US, however it’s going to even have massively distortive results on worldwide commerce flows, including additional import stress to our personal market.

“UK metal poses no risk to US nationwide safety. Our high-quality merchandise serve key US industries, a lot of which can not supply these domestically.

“This can be a second the place our nations ought to work collectively to deal with world metal overproduction, to not be at loggerheads.”