US, UK Talk Section 232 Tariffs on Steel and Aluminum

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and the United Kingdom's Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan said they want to consult on steel and aluminum early next year, "with a view to combating global excess capacity and addressing outstanding concerns on US tariffs and UK rebalancing measures," according to a U.K. readout of the visit Dec. 8. It said that Trevelyan invited Raimondo to London for those further talks in January.

Raimondo's readout called the U.K. actions "countermeasures," and added that the U.K. and the U.S. intend to cooperate more closely "on trade in clean technology to support decarbonization efforts in both countries."

According to a report by the BBC, on her return home, Trevelyan said her country's retaliatory tariffs could increase if the U.K. isn't given a way to get out from under 25% tariffs on steel. The European Union agreed to a tariff rate quota system to end the tariffs on its metal exports, and that will begin Jan 1. "I was very clear that the pressures we are under to use countervailing measures if we can't solve the problem are becoming more acute," she said.