British steel exports to the US will be hit with 25% tariffs under Donald Trump’s plans as the UK’s new ambassador to Washington, Lord Mandelson, said people must respect the president’s “strong and clear mandate”. The president’s executive order removes exemptions for the UK and other countries, meaning steel and aluminium exports to the US will be hit by tariffs from March 12. The move presents an early challenge for Lord Mandelson, whose appointment cleared its final hurdle late on Monday.
Lord Mandelson said “President Trump’s administration is shaping up to be one of the most consequential periods in modern America” and he has been “energised by the opportunities opening up” for closer collaboration. The UK’s top diplomat in Washington said Sir Keir Starmer’s Government can “always make our views known privately and directly” to Mr Trump but that it must “understand what drives him”.
Lord Mandelson acknowledged he is “concerned” about the looming prospect of tariffs and said Britain will “not necessarily agree” with every detail of the new US president’s agenda. Asked how the UK could try to persuade Mr Trump to change his position on certain policy areas without alienating his administration, he told the BBC: “Well, we’ve got to take all these issues as they come, realise that the president has a very strong and clear mandate for change in the United States.
“Now that doesn’t mean to say that we’re going to agree in Britain with every single detail of what he does, but we have to respect and understand what drives him, what his mandate is to do, and how his allies need to adjust sometimes. “And I believe that, given the relationship that we have, we can always make our views known – best, by the way, directly and privately. “We have a strong relationship that enables us to influence the president and his policies where necessary, and it certainly should not affect our ability to work well together, and that’s what I intend remains the case.”.
Britain exported 166,433 tonnes of steel to the US in 2023, the last full year for which figures are available. Figures from trade body UK Steel showed that in 2024 some 162,716 tonnes were sent to the US, but that does not yet include data from December. UK Steel warned the tariffs “would be a devastating blow to our industry”. Mr Trump said the tariffs are “the beginning of making America rich again”.
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. The Prime Minister is hoping to visit Washington in the coming weeks for face-to-face talks with Mr Trump, but no details have yet been confirmed on the timing of the trip. Lord Mandelson, a former minister, European Union trade chief and a key architect of Labour’s renewal in the 1990s, said his “priority” in his new role will be to help encourage an investment relationship with the US fit for the 21st century.
“Each of us wants to grow our economies,” he said. “I think that what we need to do is to build a technology and investment relationship between the US and the UK that’s fit for the 21st century. That’s where I want to focus.”. He added: “We’re going to depend in growing our economy on private investment, foreign investment, a large amount of which is going to come from the United States of America.”.
