Sir Keir Starmer has been told he must do more to protect Britain’s steel industry from Donald Trump’s threatened tariffs.
The US president has warned that he will impose 25% tariffs on any steel coming into his country. Aluminium will also be subject to additional duties, he warned.
The UK Government is waiting to see details of Mr Trump’s policy. However, the steel industry body has called for decisive action from ministers, while unions warned further jobs could be put at risk in a sector that has already suffered badly in recent years.
The UK exported 166,433 tonnes of steel to the US in 2023 and a similar amount last year.
The US is the industry’s second-largest export market after the EU, although the Government said it only accounted for 5% of UK steel exports in 2023.
UK Steel director general Gareth Stace said if Mr Trump went ahead with the tariffs, it “would be a devastating blow to our industry” and “damage over £400million worth of the steel sector’s contribution to the UK’s balance of trade”.
He added: “It is deeply disappointing if President Trump sees the need to target UK steel, given our relatively small production volumes compared to major steel nations.
“The UK produces world-leading steel, supplying the US with high-quality products for defence, aerospace, stainless, and other critical sectors, materials that simply cannot be replicated elsewhere.”
There are fears within the industry that US tariffs could also mean exports from other countries – such as China – are diverted to the UK, heaping further pressure on the domestic industry.
Alasdair McDiarmid, assistant general secretary at trade union Community, said: “At a time of uncertainty for the sector, a punitive new tariff on UK steel exports would be hugely damaging and threaten jobs.
“For the US it would also be self-defeating, as the UK is a leading supplier of specialist steel products required by their defence and aerospace sectors.”
Downing Street said the UK and US “work closely together on a range of economic issues, supporting jobs” on both sides of the Atlantic.
“I haven’t seen any detailed proposals following the reporting overnight, but we will obviously engage as appropriate,” said the Prime Minister’s official spokesman.
He would not be drawn on whether the UK would retaliate if Mr Trump imposed tariffs, describing the question as hypothetical.
The UK steel industry was hit with tariffs in 2018 during Mr Trump’s first term in office, but those import taxes were eased in 2022.
So far in his second term in the White House, Mr Trump has imposed, but then delayed, duties on imports from Mexico and Canada. He has also imposed 10% levies on goods from China.
The president has previously suggested a deal could be done to exempt the UK from tariffs, while claiming Britain is “out of line” in its trading relationship with the US.
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey urged the Prime Minister to hold crisis talks with the leaders of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to discuss the tariff threat.
He said: “Donald Trump’s latest threat of tariffs will plunge many into deep uncertainty – not least those working in our great British steel industry.
“Keir Starmer must immediately call a Four Nations summit with leaders across the United Kingdom, to agree a joint plan to protect our economy from Trump’s damaging trade war.”
Tom Clougherty, executive director at the Institute of Economic Affairs, said: “Tariffs are a tax on domestic consumers. With living costs high and growth sluggish, they are the last thing Britain needs right now.
“That logic doesn’t change just because other countries impose tariffs on the import of your goods. Retaliatory tariffs simply add to the pain.
“The Government should pay little attention to what other countries do in response to US protectionism. The right course for Britain is to trade as freely as possible, whatever the circumstances.”
