British steelmakers face growing uncertainty as they face a few days ahead of the critical deadline set by former U.S. President Donald Trump.
It has not been confirmed on Monday, and the UK has not yet determined to cancel a deal to eliminate U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum exports, which has raised concerns that British producers may still be punished by a 50% tariff hike.
Britain previously received a 25% tariff rate through earlier negotiations, and officials have since worked hard to lower it further – ideally to zero. However, Downing Street cannot disclose whether there is confidence that it can agree to a full exemption before the July 9 deadline set by the Trump administration.
“Our cooperation with the United States continues to implement this deal as soon as possible,” a government spokesman said. “This will eliminate the 25% tariff on UK steel and aluminum, making us the only country in the world that imposes tariffs on these products.”
The deal has not yet been officially implemented, despite the U.S. having agreed to lift tariffs after signing a UK-US agreement at the G7 summit in Canada last month. Trump’s administration said it will start notifying trading partners that they have not completed the deal before July 9 and have new tariff rates effective from August 1.
Trump’s Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick clarified that the tariff itself will be imposed from early August, although the letter will be issued on July 9 – providing a narrow window for British negotiators to finalize terms and avoid export disruptions.
The 10th spokesman reiterated whether the British Steel Company was confident that it would avoid the hit of the entire 50% tariff, reiterated that the discussion continued and emphasized the importance of ongoing participation.
The spokesperson added: “We have a very close relationship with the United States, and the United States is already very clear that it wants to talk to us and think that businesses and consumers on both sides have the best deals.”
The UK steel industry has been staked high, especially after the UK government’s intervention earlier this year, through temporary open control of the company to prevent the closure of the Scunthorpe plant in UK Steel.
In the U.S. trade negotiations, China’s Jingye Group’s ownership of British steel has been the focus of the debate. Washington has raised concerns about the potential of Chinese steel to fill through British action in an attempt to avoid existing U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports.
The executive order to implement the UK Trade Agreement section underlines the importance of ensuring supply chain integrity and transparency around supply chain integrity and transparency for steel and aluminum products. The order states that the UK is “committed to meeting the U.S. requirements for supply chain security … and the ownership nature of related production facilities”.
The delay in resolving steel tariffs is contrary to other parts of the UK trade agreement. The British aerospace sector will benefit from zero U.S. tariffs, while tariffs on British-made cars have been reduced from 25% to 10% according to a deal reached by Prime Minister Keir Starmer and President Trump in the G7.
The next few days will be crucial. It was less than a week until the U.S. began notifying trading partners, but British steel manufacturers and their employees were still in trouble awaiting confirmation that their exports would be protected from steep U.S. trade penalties.
