UK Avoids the Doubling of U.S. Steel and Aluminium Duty

As President Trump initially announced during a rally in Pittsburgh on Friday, the U.S. has today doubled the tariff on steel and aluminium to 50%.  The higher rate of duty will take effect from today (4th June).  

However, it has been announced that the UK has initially avoided the rise in duty, with UK-origin goods remaining at the 25% which is currently in place.  Via a White House press release, it was announced that the reduced rate for UK-origin goods will stay in place until July 9th, when

“Changes or quotas may be introduced depending on the status of the U.S.-UK Economic Prosperity Deal”.   

50% tariff on the Steel & Aluminium Content 

Within the signed Proclamation, it states that the tariff of 50% will only be payable on the aluminium and steel content, with non-aluminium and non-steel content being subject to the reciprocal tariff rates (10%).   

Though this could potentially mean a reduced rate of duty for some businesses, the degree to which a business benefits will depend on its particular goods.  Also, they need to consider how they can collect relevant evidence to back up any claims, and that the importing intermediary will correctly complete the customs documentation to reflect the steel and aluminium content. 

Next Steps for UK Businesses 

It has clearly come as welcome news to UK businesses that their UK-origin goods will not see a doubling of their applicable tariffs.  

However, within the announcement and the Proclamation, it is clear that uncertainty remains , and any future tariffs will be determined by the Economic Prosperity Deal negotiations.  Beyond the negotiations, the Proclamation does leave it open to the President amending the tariff on UK goods if he finds that “the United Kingdom has not complied with relevant aspects of the EPD”.  This open-ended approach, matched with the President’s reputation for quickly changing course, means that uncertainty remains for UK businesses.