May ‘will try and talk Trump into dropping metal tariffs’

THERESA May will try to persuade Donald Trump to reverse his damaging steel and aluminium tariffs at Friday’s G7 meeting in Canada.

The International Trade Secretary Liam Fox said there was a chance the UK may be given a special status as it produces niche steel products for the US defence sector.

Mr Fox has called the tariffs, 25% on steel and 10% on aluminium, UNDER FIRE Donald Trump wrong and “illegal”. Mr Fox, who hopes for a trade deal with the US after Brexit, fears EU counter-tariffs on a range of US goods could spark a trade war. Last year £360million of steel was exported from the UK to the US. G7 finance chiefs issued a joint statement asking the US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to convey their “unanimous concern and disappointment” about the tariffs to the President.