The United Kingdom and the United States are discussing reducing tariffs on cars and steel
British Business and Trade Minister Jonathan Reynolds, who met with U.
S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on June 12, expressed hope that an agreement with the United States on reducing tariffs on British car imports could soon be concluded, but negotiations on steel are still ahead. This is reported by Bloomberg.
The preliminary agreement agreed between US President Donald Trump and the Prime Minister of Great Britain, Keir Starmer, provided for a reduction of 27.5% of the tariff on imports of British cars to 10% for 100,000 vehicles.
However, the expected lifting of tariffs on British steel, which currently stand at 25%, has proved more difficult. The May agreement signed by the parties notes that there are conditions in the United States regarding the ownership of enterprises in the British steel sector.
In part, now the Chinese Jingye Group still owns British Steel, although the government has taken the company under operational control.
Reynolds noted that the obstacles to concluding an agreement on steel now lie not in who owns it, but in the "smelted and bottled" rule.
Under previous trade agreements, the US insisted that steel should be smelted and bottled in the UK. This requirement is becoming increasingly difficult to meet, as British Steel is the only manufacturer that still has blast furnaces after Tata Steel UK closed its own. The electric arc furnace of the latter should be put into operation by the end of 2027.
The "melted and bottled" requirement, according to the minister, is still part of the discussions that Britain is having with the United States.
One of the details that needs to be agreed upon before the agreement comes into force is steel quotas. Reynolds added that he wants to make sure that tariff reductions affect every segment of the steel industry.
Recall that in May, the British steel sector called for clarity on the timing of the cancellation of US steel tariffs as part of a trade agreement between the parties. Details released later indicated that the parties had yet to formalize a number of requirements.