An expansion of the list of goods now subject to increased US import tariffs has left British businesses shocked this week – with many pausing their exports until the confusion over the new rates is cleared up.
Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that an extra 25 per cent tariff would be added to hundreds of products containing steel and aluminum.
These products include parts used in car exhaust systems and construction machinery, as well as items that range from children’s highchairs to cosmetic products in aluminum packaging.
In total, there were more than 400 new categories listed in the shock announcement by the Trump administration earlier this week.
Garden furniture, dishwashers, ovens, motorcycles, and microwaves are all amongst products now subject to the new levies.
Whilst any good that contains steel or aluminum will be taxed at the higher rate, only the part of the exported product that contains the metal will be subject to this tariff.
This means that UK exporters will now have to work out which percentage of their goods is made with either of the two metals, in order to pass this information on to the buyer in the US.
The new tariffs comes after lobbying from US steel companies, reminding Trump of his pledge to prioritize the domestic economy.
Business owners in the UK meanwhile have slammed the measures as “very damaging to the British economy”.
US President Donald Trump announced the higher tariffs on steel and aluminum during a rally in Pennsylvania in May (Photo: Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty)When will the tariffs be implemented?
The tariffs came into force as soon as they were announced on Tuesday, and were to be applied to goods already en route to the US.
This left US customs officials scrambling to quell delays and disruption as companies decided whether to pay the extra tariffs or leave products stranded in ports in the US.
There have been reports that hundreds of orders are being delayed or cancelled as a result of the tariffs, meaning some companies are losing out on millions of pounds.
Customs brokers described how clients were paying for their items to be stored at the ports until confusion over the rates could be cleared up.
Graeme Macdonald, the CEO of construction company JCB, told The Sunday Times that the move had led to “chaos” at the US ports.
“They need to get a deal done quickly, because this is very damaging to British industry”, he added, “This has blindsided everybody. It’s blindsided us, it’s blindsided the UK government. We’re not releasing our items until we have finalized our interpretation of the rules, and neither is anybody else. So there’s a huge backlog of imported goods in every port now in the US”.
Trump and Starmer announced they had signed off on their trade deal in June, which had been delayed by disputes over US tariffs (Photo: Suzanne Plunkett/AFP)What has been the UK’s response?
It is likely that the shock move came as a surprise to officials in the business department, especially since a “breakthrough” trade deal which included cutting tariffs rates on British aluminum and steel to zero was supposedly agreed just months ago.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has touted getting Trump to reduce the remainder of UK tariffs to 25 per cent, whilst other countries must pay the 50 per cent rate, as a diplomatic success.
The government would have hoped that the trade deal regarding steel and aluminum would have taken effect by this point and that US concerns about what counted as “British” steel could be swept aside.
It is understood that delay was sparked by debate over whether British steel exports which contained metals “melted and poured” in a third country would be included in the deal.
A statement from the UK government this week read: “Thanks to our trade deal with the US, the UK is still the only country to have avoided 50 per cent steel and aluminum tariffs, but we are committed to going further to give industry the security they need, protect vital jobs, and put more money in people’s pockets.
“We will continue to work with the US to get this deal implemented as soon as possible and in the industry’s best interests”.
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