London/New York – In response to the March 22nd announcements made by UK Secretary of State for International Trade, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, United States Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo, and United States Trade Representative Katherine C. Tai that a deal has been reached to remove tariffs on British steel and aluminium exports to the US after a longstanding dispute between the two countries, BritishAmerican Business CEO Duncan Edwards said:

“This announcement is hugely welcome as it begins to resolve the last major trade dispute between the US and UK. BAB has advocated for the removal of the steel and aluminium tariffs since 2018 and was encouraged by the steps taken by the US, EU, and Japan on this issue in December 2021 and January 2022.

That these discussions have resulted in an agreement to replace the Section 232 tariffs with a high level of tariff-free access for steel and aluminium exports to the USA, is very good news, although we believe that there is still more to be done.

Reading behind the headlines we can see that the USA remains very concerned about excess capacity from Chinese and other steel producers leaking into the US market, including from the UK, which explains why this action does not include the full removal of Section 232 tariffs without regard to volume.

The agreement includes commitments from the UK to continue its work with the USA to identify and eliminate excess capacity from non-market producers finding its way into the UK, EU and US market.

Last night’s announcement, which includes the UK lifting its rebalancing tariffs on a range of US exports is a very encouraging step and should provide confidence that the US and UK can work together on a range of trade issues.

This breakthrough also coincides with the inaugural US/UK Dialogue on the Future of Transatlantic Trade in Baltimore. We hope and expect that it will add even more momentum to the Dialogue and the ambitions behind it.”

Learn more about the Joint Statement on U.S./UK Dialogues on Future of Atlantic Trade here.