Trump says outcome will be known ‘pretty soon’ over steel tariffs

Donald Trump has hinted that the UK will know “pretty soon” whether or not tariffs on steel will increase to 50%.

The President said the US wants to “make our own steel” when he faced questions from journalists on Monday.

It remains to be seen whether tariffs on British steel imports into America will be eliminated, remain at 25% where they currently stand, or increase further.

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'Tough negotiators'

Asked by reporters at the top of his meeting with Sir Keir Starmer when the cost of steel tariffs will come down, Mr Trump said: “We’re gonna know pretty soon, we’re gonna have it pretty soon.

“These people are tough negotiators, OK. We’re a big buyer of steel, but we’re going to make our own steel and we’re going to make our own aluminium for the most part.

“But we buy a lot of aluminium from right here and a lot of steel too.”

When the UK and US signed a trade deal in June, it reduced tariffs on car and aerospace imports to the US.

Agreement on a similar arrangement for Britain’s steel imports was not reached, leaving tariffs on steel at 25%.

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Sticking points

American concerns over steel products made elsewhere in the world, then finished in the UK, are said to be among the sticking points.

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds suggested it may take more than Monday’s meeting between the two leaders to resolve the matter, telling BBC Breakfast: “We were very happy to announce the breakthrough that we had a few months ago in relation to sectors like automotive, aerospace, which are really important to the UK economy.

“But we always said it was job saved, but it wasn’t job done. There’s more to do.

“The negotiations have been going on on a daily basis since then. There’s a few issues to push a little bit further today.

“We won’t perhaps have anything to announce a resolution of those talks, but there’s some sectors that we still need to resolve, particularly around steel and aluminium, and there’s the wider conversation about what the US calls its reciprocal tariffs.”