UK ministers are working to secure tariff-free access to the US for Tata Steel, fearing its exclusion from a new trade deal between Keir Starmer and Donald Trump. The deal, which has paused 50% tariffs on British steel and aluminium, might exclude Tata Steel's Port Talbot works due to its use of imported steel from India and Europe, potentially breaching US 'melted and poured' rules. UK negotiators are seeking a carve-out for Tata, which exports over $100m to the US. Concerns also exist regarding Chinese-owned British Steel and its potential as a 'back door' for Chinese products into the US. Delays in implementing the trade deal have already impacted business, with Tata Steel reporting £150m affected by tariffs.
Fears Tata Steel could be excluded from Starmer’s Trump tariff deal
Industrial policyTrade policyPoliticsSteel industryTrump tariffsTariffsInternational tradeTataBritish SteelManufacturing sectorDonald TrumpUKBusiness
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TL;DR: Key points with love ❤️UK ministers are working to secure tariff-free access to the US for Tata Steel, fearing its exclusion from a new trade deal between Keir Starmer and Donald Trump. The deal, which has paused 50% tariffs on British steel and aluminium, might exclude Tata Steel's Port Talbot works due to its use of imported steel from India and Europe, potentially breaching US 'melted and poured' rules. UK negotiators are seeking a carve-out for Tata, which exports over $100m to the US. Concerns also exist regarding Chinese-owned British Steel and its potential as a 'back door' for Chinese products into the US. Delays in implementing the trade deal have already impacted business, with Tata Steel reporting £150m affected by tariffs.
Trending- 1 2024: Tata Steel shut down its blast furnace at Port Talbot.
- 2 April 2025: UK government used emergency legislation to take control of British Steel.
- 3 May 2025: Starmer's deal with Trump agreed to cut 25% tariff rate to zero (not yet finalized).
- 4 Early June 2025: US doubled tariffs on foreign steel and aluminium imports to 50% (except Britain).
- 5 June 4, 2025: UK Prime Minister hoped deal would come into effect 'in just a couple of weeks'; US President paused 50% tariffs for five weeks.
- Potential exclusion of Tata Steel from tariff-free US access
- Loss of business for steel manufacturers (e.g., £150m for Tata Steel)
- Complex negotiations between UK and US
- US concerns about Chinese products entering via UK
What: UK ministers are trying to secure a carve-out for Tata Steel from a US-UK trade deal to ensure tariff-free access, as the company fears exclusion due to its use of imported steel. There are also concerns about Chinese involvement in British Steel.
When: Published 2025-06-05; Prime Minister spoke on Wednesday (June 4, 2025); US president decided to pause tariffs for five weeks; Tata Steel shut down blast furnace last year (2024); US doubled tariffs this week (early June 2025); Starmer's deal with Trump last month (May 2025); Russell Codling spoke to MPs before the announcement.
Where: UK (Port Talbot, Scunthorpe), US, India, Europe, South Wales.
Why: To prevent Tata Steel from being excluded from tariff-free access to the US market, to protect British steelmakers, and to address US concerns about Chinese influence in the UK steel industry.
How: UK negotiators are trying to secure a carve-out for Tata Steel; the US paused 50% tariffs for five weeks; the US agreed to cut 25% tariffs to zero in a deal with Starmer last month (not yet finalized); the UK government used emergency legislation to take control of British Steel.