UK will not rush to respond as Trump tariffs take ‘sledgehammer to free trade’ Donald Trump’s decision to slap tariffs on imports of steel from the UK will not trigger a “knee-jerk” response from the Government despite warnings about the devastating impact on the industry.
UK Steel director-general Gareth Stace said: “President Trump has taken a sledgehammer to free trade, with huge ramifications for the steel sector in the UK and across the world.
But UK Steel dismissed the president’s claim that steel imports from Australia, the EU, Japan, and the UK rose from 18.6% in 2020 to 20.7% in 2024 because it ignored the demand-lowering impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
UK steel exports to the US were actually 14% lower in 2024 than in 2018 when tariffs were introduced by Mr Trump in his first term in the White House.
The decision to impose tariffs on UK steel presents an early challenge for the UK’s new ambassador to the US Lord Mandelson.
