The UK needs a “cool and clear-headed” response to Donald Trump imposing 25% tariffs on British steel exports, the trade minister has said.
The US president announced the heavy levies on foreign steel and aluminium late on Monday, saying they will be enforced “without exceptions or exemptions”.
UK Steel said the tariffs “would be a devastating blow to our industry” and accused Mr Trump of taking “a sledgehammer to free trade, with huge ramifications for the steel sector in the UK and across the world”.
However, trade minister Douglas Alexander urged a “cool and clear-headed” response from the industry rather than a “knee-jerk” reaction.
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Speaking in the Commons on Tuesday, he said the UK “stands ready” to find solutions that work for both countries.
He said the US had so far only published details about tariffs on steel, not on aluminium.
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Mr Alexander confirmed the business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, would be meeting the steel industry and trade unions “within the next 24 hours”, adding the UK has historically “benefited from a strong and balanced trade relationship with the United States worth around £300m”.
The MP, who is also a Cabinet Office minister, said it was “right and reasonable to be mindful” of what Mr Trump has said and to “undertake analysis”.
The US president “has a speciality in generating uncertainty – it’s part of his style of negotiations,” he added.
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Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is hoping to visit Washington DC in the coming weeks for talks with Mr Trump, but no details have yet been confirmed.
Downing Street declined to say whether Mr Trump was wrong to impose the tariffs, saying the government “will take a considered approach” and will “engage with the US on the detail”.
A spokesman would not reveal if discussions with the US involved the UK asking Mr Trump to exclude Britain from the duties, and would not say if subsidies for British Steel could be introduced.
He added: “We’ve already provided significant support to the UK steel industry: £2.5bn of investment in the sector, we are bringing forward a British industry supercharger which is cutting electricity costs for steel firms and bringing prices in line with international competitors.”
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The US is the UK steel industry’s second-largest export market after the EU, although the government said it only accounted for 5% of UK steel exports in 2023.
Mr Trump said the tariffs were needed to protect the US steel industry and national security.
UK Steel director-general Gareth Stace said: “President Trump has taken a sledgehammer to free trade, with huge ramifications for the steel sector in the UK and across the world.
“This will not only hinder UK exports to the US, but it will also have hugely distortive effects on international trade flows, adding further import pressure to our own market.
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“UK steel poses no threat to US national security. Our high-quality products serve key US industries, many of which cannot source these domestically.
“This is a moment where our countries should work together to tackle global steel overproduction, not to be at loggerheads.”
