UK steel braced to face shocking new 50% US tariff

31 May 2025

UK steelmakers are expecting to encounter a new 50% import tax after President Trump hiked his tax on all steel and aluminium entering the US. This is set to replace the 25% import tax the President slapped on imports earlier this year, which came into effect on 12 March.

Despite the Prime Minister and the President’s agreement that UK steel imports would no longer face an import charge - announced on 8 May - the original 25% import tax has remained in place while officials iron out the detail of the decision.

UK Steel understands the new 50% charge will therefore likely affect all UK steelmakers’ US imports from Wednesday. The US is the UK’s second most important export market, worth around £400 million and totalling 9% by value of exports, therefore it is critical that this new steel tariff does not apply to UK steel imports to the US.

UK Steel Director-General, Gareth Stace, said: 

“The announcement that US steel tariffs could jump up to 50% on Wednesday is yet another body blow for all UK steelmakers in this torrid time. UK steel companies are this morning fearful that orders will now be cancelled, some of which are likely being shipped across the Atlantic as we speak. 

“The deal that the Prime Minister and President Trump struck just a few short weeks ago is yet to be finalised, so this doubling of tariffs plunges the UK steel industry further into confusion. Uncertainty remains as to whether and when our second biggest export market will be open for business or is being firmly shut in our faces. 

“UK Steel is now pressing our government to finalise the agreement to eliminate UK steel import tax and for it to come into effect urgently. UK steelmakers should not have to shell out for this new steep hike in US steel tariffs. All we want is to continue producing the steel our US customers value so highly.”

Contact details

Louise Young, Campaigns and Engagement Manager, 

UK Steel  07388 370176 | Lyoung@makeuk.org

Notes to Editors 

• UK exports to US: 
  • In 2024, the UK exported 180 thousand tonnes of semi-finished and finished steel to the US, worth £370 million. This accounts for 7% of the UK’s total steel exports by volume and 9% by value.
  • The UK exported 300Kt (£490mn) of steel to the US in 2017 before Section 232 tariffs were imposed in 2018. The UK exported an average of 200Kt (£320mn) over 2018-2021. The UK and the US agreed a system of tariff rate quotas in 2022 seeing exports recover slightly to 235Kt (£517mn). However, the next two years have seen a tough market for steel as a result of high costs and weak demand, which has impacted UK steel production and exports. In 2023, the UK’s steel exports to the US totalled 165Kt (£388mn).
• Global excess capacity:
  • Global excess capacity was estimated at 602Mt in 2024 and is forecasted to reach 721Mt by 2027 – equivalent more than 100x the UK’s production.
  • Capacity expansions in Southeast Asia and the Middle East are continuing at an alarming rate – these are largely state-funded, mostly for high-emission blast furnaces and often do not correspond to domestic demand trends.
  • Steel demand is weakening in key markets, notably China, translating into rising oversupply which is dampening steel prices and spilling over into other markets.
  • Import pressure on the UK market is on the rise amid a weak demand environment. The import share in 2024 already increased to 65% from 60% in 2022. The sharpest import increases came from non-EU sources, mainly India, Vietnam, China, South Korea, Turkey and Algeria. Importantly, these are also countries that have seen significant increases in imports from China or are within China’s top 10 exporting destinations.
  • Over two thirds of steelmaking capacity is in countries that have Net Zero targets later than 2060 or none at all.
• UK Steel safeguards: 
  • Safeguards are a type of trade remedies measure intended to address unexpected surges in imports that are damaging or threatening to damage domestic producers. Safeguards can take various forms but the most common is a tariff-free quota – this allows the continuation of tariff-free imports at the same level or higher as the period before the safeguard was introduced.
  • The UK inherited its steel safeguards from the EU which introduced its own equivalent measure in 2018 principally to guard against import diversion from the US after the introduction of Section 232 tariffs by President Trump. This mechanism expires under WTO rules in June 2026.
  • The UK is only partially shielded from trade diversion expected to occur as a result of President Trump’s new 2025 25% steel tariffs. Steel safeguard quotas have been liberalised every year and are now 22% larger than when they were first introduced in 2018. All while UK demand has contracted by 16%.
  • Even a small proportion of surplus material ending up in the UK would completely overwhelm the UK steel market. Most of these imports will be of high-emission steel.
  • The UK steel safeguards are currently under review - the latest update can be found here.

About UK Steel: UK Steel is the trade association for the UK steel industry. It represents all the country’s steelmakers and most downstream steel processors.

The UK steel sector:   

• Produced 4Mt of crude steel in 2024 and supplied 30% of the UK's annual demand of 9.2Mt
• Employs 36,800 people directly in the UK and supports a further 46,000 in supply chains
• The median steel sector salary is £39,245, 24% higher than the UK national median and 33% higher than the regional median in Wales, and Yorkshire & Humberside where its jobs are concentrated
• Directly contributes £1.7 billion to UK GVA and supports a further £2.2 billion
• Directly contributes £3.1 billion to the UK’s balance of trade
• 96% of steel used in construction and infrastructure in the UK is recovered and recycled to be used again and again

For further information about the steel industry, please see the 2025 press pack, Why the UK needs a strong steel sector or the 2024 UK Steel Key Statistics report.