Business Secretary pledges steel tariff announcement ‘as soon as possible’

Business Secretary Peter Kyle has said that tariff relief for UK steel is being negotiated and that he will “make sure that we have an announcement as soon as possible”.

The UK and US signed a trade deal in June that reduced tariffs on car and aerospace imports to the US, but failed to agree on terms for British steel, leaving tariffs on it at 25%.

The sticking points are thought to include US concerns over steel products made elsewhere in the world, then finished in the UK.

MPs have called for the UK Government to maximise pressure on the US to secure relief from tariffs ahead of Donald Trump’s state visit.

Protections

The newly appointed Business and Trade Secretary told the BBC’s Sunday Morning With Laura Kuenssberg that the UK’s steel industry is “better protected than any other around the world”.

“And we are making sure that we can make sure those benefits are enshrined in a sustainable, long term way.”

He said he headed to Washington last weekend after being appointed as Trade Secretary on Friday evening in the Cabinet reshuffle.

“I was in the West Wing of the White House on Monday, talking about these issues.

“I am straight out of the gate, I am there negotiating, and we will get a deal across the line for a whole bunch of new things and new opportunities very soon that you’re going to hear more about this week, and when it comes to steel, we will make sure that we have an announcement as soon as possible. “

The Commons Business and Trade Committee said the visit next week is the moment to put pressure on the US president to agree to the final terms of the so-called economic prosperity deal.

In a report published on Sunday, the committee welcomed the UK Government securing swift tariff relief for key sectors.

“It is however now vital that Government maximises pressure on the United States, beginning and following the president’s state visit, to agree final terms for a lasting economic prosperity deal to end the threat of future sectoral tariffs, maximise predictability and that where the UK has secured terms which are second best to the EU, we aim to improve them,” they said.

Test

Committee chairman Liam Byrne MP said the state visit is “no mere pageant”.

He said: “It is a test of whether Britain and US build a safer, richer future – or remain trapped in tariff fights that serve neither nation well.

“Sir Keir Starmer deserves credit for securing the economic prosperity deal.

“But we can’t escape the truth that Britain now trades with its biggest partner on terms that are worse than the past, the EU has in places secured a better edge, and key sectors of our economy still face the peril of new tariffs.

“That means jobs hang in the balance and investment waits on certainty.”

The committee also urged the UK Government to seal a deal on aluminium and pharmaceuticals and for any final agreement to reflect the realities of the UK’s supply chains and transition to low-carbon production.

It said the UK should leverage the US partnership to gain an edge over China in artificial intelligence and defence technology, de-risked supply chains and greater security for critical minerals supplies.

It comes as US financial firms have announced investments in the UK worth £1.25 billion before Mr Trump’s state visit.

The investment along with other capital commitments line up some £20 billion trade between the two countries, with some £8 billion to come to the UK and £12 billion to go to the US, the Department for Business and Trade said.

Tech giants OpenAI and Nvidia are reportedly planning to unveil billions of dollars of investment into UK data centres during the visit next week.

Sam Altman, the boss of ChatGPT-maker OpenAI, and chipmaker Nvidia’s chief executive Jensen Huang are understood to be part of a delegation of US executives to join Mr Trump.

The US president’s two-day trip begins on Wednesday and includes an overnight stay at Windsor Castle.