U.S. scales back as Britain lifts duties on whiskey, jeans
The Biden administration said Tuesday it would roll back Trumpera tariffs on British steel and aluminum, moving to resolve a trans-Atlantic trade clash that had soured relations with a key ally.
Under the agreement, the United States will allow a certain volume of metals from the United Kingdom to be imported dutyfree starting June 1. In return, Britain agreed to lift tariffs on more than $500 million worth of American whiskey, blue jeans, motorcycles and other products, removing barriers imposed on U.S. exports during the trade spats of the Trump administration.
The announcement, which came at the conclusion of two days of trade talks between British and U.S. officials, removed some of the last remaining vestiges of the trans-atlantic trade clashes of the past few years.
The European Union — which included the United Kingdom until 2020 — imposed the tariffs on American products as retaliation for the levies that former President Donald Trump placed on foreign steel and aluminum in 2018. Post-brexit, the United Kingdom maintained many of those tariffs on American goods.
Biden administration officials, particularly U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, have worked over the past year to scale back many of those barriers, believing that the United States should focus its energy on countering economic rivals, not fighting with allies.
During two days of meetings in Baltimore that kicked off a new trade dialogue, U.S. and British officials pledged to advance policies that would deepen their partnership and would benefit workers and the environment. Officials also said they would continue to cooperate on measures to penalize President Vladimir Putin of Russia for that country’s invasion of Ukraine.
Under the agreement, British steel and aluminum that is imported into the United States must be entirely smelted and cast in the United Kingdom to escape tariffs, to prevent cheap steel from China and other countries from finding a backdoor into the U.S. market.
In addition, any British steel company owned by a Chinese entity must audit their financial records to assess influence from the Chinese government and share those results with the United States, the Biden administration said.
U.S. and British officials also said semifinished products containing aluminum from China, Russia or Belarus would not be allowed to come into the United States duty-free.
Restrictions still apply: If shipments of steel and aluminum from Britain exceed certain levels, they will be taxed at the existing tariffs of 25% on steel and the 10% on aluminum.
As part of the agreement, the United States and Britain will also continue to confer on “marketdistorting influence or ownership” in the steel and aluminum industries.
The United States said it would send a trade delegation to Britain for further talks soon.
The deal “delivers on President Biden’s vision to repair relationships with our allies while also helping to ensure the long-term viability of our steel and aluminum industries, the communities they support, and most importantly, the workers in these industries on both sides of the Atlantic,” Tai said in a statement.
Thomas Conway, international president of United Steelworkers, said the union supported the agreement and that it was “an important step in addressing systemic problems like illegal dumping and global overcapacity that threaten the vitality and future of our steel and aluminum industries.”
Chris Swonger, CEO of the Distilled Spirits Council, said that American distillers were “cheering the end of this long tariff nightmare.”
According to the group, American whiskey exports to Britain had declined by 42% since 2018, when the tariffs were imposed.
“With the removal of the U.K.’S debilitating retaliatory tariffs on American Whiskey exports, U.S. distillers are ready to fire up the stills,” he added.