UK continues negotiations with the US on steel as part of a trade deal

UK Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds, who met with US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on June 12, expressed hope that an agreement with the United States to reduce tariffs on imports of British cars could soon be reached, but negotiations on steel are still ahead. This was reported by Bloomberg.

The preliminary agreement agreed between US President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer provided for a 27.5% reduction in the tariff on imports of British cars to 10% for 100 thousand vehicles.

However, the expected elimination of tariffs on British steel, which currently stand at 25%, proved more difficult. The May agreement concluded by the parties states that the United States has conditions on the ownership of British steel companies.

In particular, China’s Jingye Group still owns British Steel, although the government has taken operational control of the company.

Reynolds noted that the obstacles to a steel deal are no longer about who owns it, but about the “smelted and poured” rule.

Under previous trade agreements, the US insisted that steel must be smelted and cast in the UK. This requirement is becoming increasingly difficult to fulfill, as British Steel is the only producer still operating blast furnaces after Tata Steel UK closed its own. The latter’s electric arc furnace is due to be commissioned by the end of 2027.

The “smelted and cast” requirement, according to the minister, is still part of the discussions that Britain is having with the United States.

One of the details to be agreed before the agreement comes into force is steel quotas, Reuters notes. Reynolds added that he wants to make sure that the tariff cuts will apply to every segment of the steel industry.

As a reminder, in late May, the UK steel sector called for clarity on when US steel tariffs would be lifted as part of a trade deal between the parties. Details released after the agreement was announced indicated that the parties still had to formalize certain requirements.

As GMK Center previously reported, the UK government is working to prevent the country’s largest steelmaker, Tata Steel, from losing duty-free access to the US market under Starmer’s trade deal with Trump. The company, which operates a steel mill in Port Talbot, may be excluded from the deal because of the origin of some of its products, its executives fear.