Donald Trump has “taken a sledgehammer to free trade”, the UK Steel trade group chief has warned after the President imposed 25 per cent tariffs on British steel exports to the US.
The news came overnight as the UK’s newly installed ambassador to Washington DC, Lord Peter Mandelson, a former New Labour-era adviser and minister, said people must respect the president’s “strong and clear mandate”.
Trump’s executive order scrapped exemptions for the UK and all other countries, with all steel and aluminium exported to the States to face tariffs from March 12.
Speaking from the Oval Office, the President said: “This is a big deal, the beginning of making America rich again. Our nation requires steel and aluminium to be made in America, not in foreign lands.”
Trade adviser Peter Navarro said the tariffs would “secure our steel and aluminium industries as the backbone and pillar industries of America’s economic and national security”.
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.
This will not only hinder UK exports to the US, but it will also have hugely distortive effects on international trade flows, adding further import pressure to our own market.
He insisted: “UK steel poses no threat to US national security. Our high-quality products serve key US industries, many of which cannot source these domestically.
“This is a moment where our countries should work together to tackle global steel overproduction, not to be at loggerheads.”
Stace stressed that the “UK stands with the US on tackling global excess steel capacity and unfair trade” and said the industry was urging the government to “take stronger action”.
He added: “This is clearly a new era for global trade. We are confident the UK government recognises the impact on our industry and will explore all available options.
“Both immediate responses, such as negotiating a solution and long-term measures to prevent harmful trade diversion into the UK market, are options.”
Trade war heats up
It comes as the European Union (EU) chief Ursula von der Leyen promised US tariffs “will not go unanswered”, and added the 27-nation bloc would trigger “firm and proportionate countermeasures”.
Von der Leyen vowed: “The EU will act to safeguard its economic interests… tariffs are taxes – bad for business, worse for consumers.”
Speaking to reporters on Monday, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said the UK and US “work closely together on a range of economic issues, supporting jobs” in both countries.
He added: “We will obviously continue to have those conversations with counterparts in the US… we will obviously engage as appropriate.”
While Chris Southworth, leader of the International Chamber of Commerce UK said: “The latest announcement on Tariffs stretches far wider than the global steel industry.
“This is a critical moment for the global community, who now need to pull together, and respond collectively. The UK has an incredibly important role to play in that response.”
He added: “We all understand the issues in the US but what’s happening now will impact US businesses, just like it impacts everybody else, especially in aerospace, automotives and construction.”
The UK exported 166,433 tonnes of steel to the US in 2023, the last full year for which figures are available. UK Steel data showed that in 2024 some 162,716 tonnes were sent to the US, but that does not yet include data from December.
The US is the industry’s second-largest export market after the EU, although the government said it only accounted for five per cent of UK steel exports in 2023.