Theresa shows some steel in the fightback over Trump’s trade tariffs
THERESA May last night warned Donald Trump that his “unjustified” steel tariffs risked putting America’s security alliance with the UK at risk.
Speaking about the threat of a tit-for-tat trade war, the Prime Minister called for Britain and the rest of the EU to be excluded from the swingeing 25 per cent levy because of the vital role the steel industry played in the defence of the West.
Her intervention followed confirmation from Brussels that the EU will retaliate against the charges on exports to the US announced yesterday.
The bloc accused the US President of “playing a dangerous game” with his lurch towards protectionism and signalled that US exports such as Levi’s and Jack Daniels would be in line for punitive charges.
Mr Trump’s administration announced earlier this week that a 25 per cent tariff on steel and 10 per cent on aluminium were being imposed on imports from the EU, Mexico and Canada. He claimed reliance on imported metals threatened US national security.
In a statement released by Downing Street last night, Mrs May said: “I am deeply disappointed at the unjustified decision by the US to apply tariffs to EU steel and aluminium imports.
“The US, EU and UK are close allies and have always promoted values of open and fair trade across the world.”
In a diplomatic warning, she took the unusual step of raising the UK-US security alliance – the bedrock of the so-called “special relationship” between the two allies – in her statement.
“Our steel and aluminium industries are hugely important to the UK, but they also contribute to US industry including in defence projects which bolster US national security,” the Prime Minister said.
“The EU and UK should be permanently exempted from tariffs and we will continue to work together to protect and safeguard our workers and industries.”
Mrs May spoke out shortly after a senior Eurocrat confirmed that the EU had opened a case against the US with the World Trade Organisation in Geneva.
EU trade commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said: “We are not in a trade war but we are in a very difficult situation caused by the United States. The US is playing a dangerous game here.”
Ms Malmstrom said a final decision on what products would be hit with tariffs had yet to be made. “We are not seeking to escalate any situation but we need to respond and we’ll do so in a measured manner, but not responding would be the same as accepting these tariffs which we consider are illegal,” she said.
She admitted the dispute created a “very worrying” situation. “It could escalate and also the economic recovery that we have seen lately, notably in the European Union but globally, risks to be diminished by this,” she added.
UK firms are expected to work with their US customers on application for exemptions from the ban. British-based steel firms that export to the US will be able
to apply for exemptions from the tariffs under US Department of Commerce rules.
Whitehall officials last night said the Government will press the Department of Commerce to deal with any British applications “promptly”.
Leading figures in the UK steel industry are expected to attend a meeting with ministers and officials at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy next Tuesday to discuss legal advice on applying for exemptions.
The director of trade body UK Steel, Gareth Stace, said he was “very, very worried” about the potential impact of a “double whammy” on British steel producers. He feared the UK industry could be shut out of an American market that bought around £350million worth of British steel last year.
Mr Stace told BBC Radio 4’s World At One: “At worst, we could fall straight back into the crisis we suffered in 2015/16, which was the worst steel crisis in a generation.”
International Trade Secretary Liam Fox said yesterday: “We are 100 per cent behind the EU in taking this dispute to the World Trade Organisation, which is the proper place to take it up if you believe in a rules-based system.
“It is very unfortunate if we get into this tit-for-tat position, especially with one of our closest allies. Nobody wins in a trade war – there are only casualties.”
In a separate statement released by his Whitehall department, the Tory Cabinet minister said: “We have not ruled out counter measures and will support any EU appeal to the World Trade Organisation.”
President Trump announced tariffs on steel imports from around the world last March.
He granted a temporary exemption for the EU, Mexico and Canada pending further negotiations.
But the exemptions expired yesterday and the tariffs were allowed to come into force. The Canadian and Mexican governments also expressed fury about the move yesterday.
Canada, the largest supplier of steel to the US, slapped tariffs worth around £10million on American imports including whiskey, orange juice, steel and aluminium.
Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau said: “The American administration has made a decision today that we deplore, and obviously is going to lead to retaliatory measures, as it must.”
Mexico also announced new tariffs on US imports, while French President Emmanuel Macron telephoned the White House to warn Mr Trump that he thought the tariffs were mistaken and illegal.
‘The EU and UK should be permanently exempt from tariffs and we will work together to protect our workers and industries’