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Sir Keir Starmer, UK prime minister, has said he is “disappointed” that the US imposed tariffs on British steel and aluminium imports, but stopped short of following the EU in announcing retaliatory measures.
Downing Street on Wednesday said Starmer would take a “pragmatic approach”, attempting to strike an economic deal with US President Donald Trump, which he believes could shelter Britain from future levies.
Speaking at Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Commons, Starmer said he was “disappointed” the global levies had been imposed on the UK by the US.
He said he would “keep all options on the table” in response to the move and that Britain was “negotiating an economic deal which covers and will include tariffs if we succeed”.
But Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey called on Starmer to be “more robust”, after Canada and the EU launched retaliatory measures.
Starmer’s comments echoed remarks earlier on Wednesday by business and trade secretary Jonathan Reynolds after a 25 per cent levy on steel and aluminium came into force overnight.
Number 10 said Reynolds would travel to Washington next week to discuss the wider economic bilateral deal, which will initially focus on closer ties in technology.
Starmer’s spokesperson said the government’s approach reflected the desire of British industry to avoid “a trade war where both sides escalate the situation”. He reiterated ministers’ support for the UK steel sector, citing £2.5bn of state investment to aid the industry.
Britain’s decision was starkly different from the EU, which immediately hit the US with €26bn of retaliatory tariffs on American goods.
Trade body UK Steel warned that the tariffs “couldn’t come at a worse time” as the industry battles high energy costs and sluggish demand. Exports to the US from the UK accounted for 7 per cent of total UK exports last year by volume but 9 per cent by value, and were worth more than £400mn.
Some steel contracts had been put on hold or cancelled before the tariffs took effect. One industry executive said their main concern was that the UK, by not responding as the EU had done, would be left exposed and could end up being flooded by imports originally destined for the US.
Tata Steel, which owns the Port Talbot steelworks in south Wales and exports products used in packaging and the oil and gas sector in the US, said the tariffs were causing a “lot of uncertainty” for customers.
With other governments likely to tighten safeguard measures, the UK should follow suit “to avoid cheaper imports flooding our market and pushing down prices as competitors look to redirect steel originally destined for the US”, said the Indian-owned group.
The calculation in London is that the US tariffs, which will add £100mn to the cost of UK steel exports, are not big enough to trigger a full-scale response that would inflame relations with Washington.
British officials say Starmer and Reynolds hope an “economic deal” with Washington could take Britain out of the line of fire in what could be an escalating transatlantic trade war.
That proposed agreement was discussed by Starmer and Trump at the White House last month, but it is far from clear whether it can be negotiated.
Last month Trump told Starmer at the White House he thought the UK and US could end up with a “real trade deal” without tariffs and called the prime minister a “tough negotiator”.
Starmer urged Trump not to impose new steel tariffs on Britain in a phone call over the weekend and Reynolds made similar pleas to his US counterpart Howard Lutnick, but to no avail.
Britain’s softly-softly approach to the Trump trade war, enabled by the UK’s exit from the EU and its common commercial policy, will be viewed warily in Brussels, especially as Starmer is seeking to “reset” relations with the EU in the coming months.
In the short term Britain’s response to the US steel and aluminium tariffs will be focused on wider government support for the sector, including a plan to cut the energy bills of heavy industry. “We remain resolute in our support for UK industry,” Reynolds said.
