The UK government is striving to secure an exemption for Tata Steel, the country’s largest steel producer, from being excluded from the UK-US trade deal due to US rules on steel origin. The deal, agreed between Prime Minister Keir Starmer and former President Donald Trump, aims to reduce US steel tariffs on British imports from 25% to 0%. However, Tata Steel’s exports to the US, valued at over $100 million annually, face risk because the company currently imports steel from its subsidiaries in India and Europe for processing at its Port Talbot plant. This practice conflicts with US requirements that steel must be “melted and poured” domestically to qualify for tariff exemptions.
Tata Steel shut down its last blast furnace in October 2024 as part of a transition to greener electric arc furnace (EAF) technology, with production expected to begin by 2027. The UK government is engaged in difficult negotiations to protect Tata Steel’s access to the US market. Meanwhile, concerns also persist over British Steel’s Chinese ownership, prompting the UK to take emergency control of its Scunthorpe plant due to US national security worries.
Prime Minister Starmer hopes the trade deal will come into force soon, but details on quotas and compliance with US supply chain security rules remain unresolved, leaving Tata Steel’s future in the deal uncertain.
