WASHINGTON, Mar 23 (NNN-AGENCIES) – The United States and Britain yesterday struck a trade deal, to resolve a four-year-long dispute, initiated by former President, Donald Trump, over U.S. tariffs on British steel and aluminum.
The deal would allow “historically-based sustainable volumes” of British steel and aluminum products to enter the U.S. market, without applying Section 232 tariffs, according to a joint statement by U.S. Commerce Secretary, Gina Raimondo, and U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai.
The deal also lifts retaliatory tariffs on over 500 million U.S. dollars’ worth of U.S. exports to Britain, including, distilled spirits, various agricultural products and consumer goods, the statement said.
Citing national security concerns, the previous Trump administration unilaterally imposed a 25-percent tariff on steel imports and a 10-percent tariff on aluminum imports in 2018, under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, drawing strong opposition domestically and abroad.
In recent months, the Biden administration signed similar deals with the European Union and Japan, to scrap tariffs on steel and aluminum in an attempt to mend ties frayed by Trump’s trade war with multiple trading partners.
The trade deal will benefit America’s steel and aluminum industries and workers by protecting manufacturing, as well as, consumers by easing inflationary pressures in the United States.
British Secretary of State for International Trade, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, who is on a visit to the United States, said that, the deal is “good news for our vital industries, who were unfairly hit,” noting that British producers can enjoy tariff-free access to the U.S. market again.– NNN-AGENCIES
