Engineering news
The levies – 25% on steel, and 10% on aluminium – came into force today, after being imposed by US president Donald Trump, who ‘cited national security concerns’.
GMB, the steel workers union, says the tariffs could threaten 34,000 UK jobs and cost the Treasury £230m in tax and national insurance contributions.
“The Government must act urgently to protect the livelihoods of more than 30,000 steel workers,” said Jude Brimble, GMB National Secretary.
“It's clear that Donald Trump's tariffs could have a devastating impact on steel communities and the wider UK economy. It's time that Ministers stood up for the steel industry and UK manufacturing, not a President who will only ever put America first."
The GMB estimates that Yorkshire and the Humber is the most at-risk region, with 9,500 jobs under threat, closely followed by Wales, where 9,250 jobs are at risk.
Tata Steel, which employs 7000 workers in Wales, also called on the government to act quickly. Henrik Adam, chief commercial officer of Tata Steel in Europe, said the products his company made such as “extra wide strip, battery quality hot rolled material,” could not be made by US companies.
The UK exports around £360m worth of steel to the US each year – accounting for 7% of Britain’s production.