UK steel exports to the US in 2024 were on track to hit 178,000 tonnes, worth £364m and nearly a tenth (9pc) of all UK steel exports, making it Britain’s second largest market after the EU, according to industry data.
Gareth Stace, director general of UK Steel, said: “The imposition of US tariffs on UK steel would be a devastating blow to our industry.”.
Australia warns Trump: Tariffs on steel and aluminium will hit American jobs Donald Trump’s tariffs will be a “devastating blow” to Britain’s steel industry and threatens job losses, manufacturing chiefs have warned.
The UK negotiated a quota system with the US after Mr Trump imposed tariffs during his first term in 2018, which allows Britain to export 500,000 tonnes of steel to the US tariff-free.
The global steel market is oversupplied, which means that even if the UK’s tariff-free quota were maintained, the British market would be at risk of getting flooded with cheap steel diverted from the US.
