There was no last minute reprieve.
Despite a last ditch phone call to the White House, Keir Starmer was not able to secure concessions for the UK as Donald Trump imposed a 25% tariff on all aluminium and steel coming into the country.
The British government has not given up hope.
Today, ministers confirmed they would not retaliate. Instead, they called for “cool heads”, saying they would be taking a “pragmatic approach”. In the background, the government is still pinning its hopes on a trade deal and a spate of retaliatory tariffs would undermine that effort.
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Unlike the EU, the UK does not have a trade surplus with the US. It is therefore not in Donald Trump’s direct firing line and ministers are hoping they can manoeuvre along the sidelines to secure concessions for the UK.
That was something the president was open to during his first term in office.
After imposing tariffs on aluminium and steel imports, Mr Trump eventually granted exemptions to several trading partners, including Canada and Mexico. In 2022, Joe Biden agreed to partially lift Trump’s tariffs on UK aluminium and steel.
It might be harder this time round.
The president is taking a stronger stance and has already rejected similar pleas from allies, including the Australians. During Trump’s first administration, they were successful, arguing that the US had a trade surplus with the country and it provided key materials for the US defence industry.
It means the pleas of organisations like UK Steel, the industry trade body, may fall on deaf ears.
“President Trump must surely…
