‘More to do’ on US steel tariffs than Trump and PM can resolve, minister signals

There is unlikely to be a “resolution” in talks over US tariffs on UK steel when Donald Trump and Sir Keir Starmer meet on Monday, Jonathan Reynolds indicated, saying there was “more to do” in negotiations.

The Prime Minister will attempt to hammer out a deal on steel import levies when he meets the US president at Turnberry, Trump’s Ayrshire golf course.

Starmer and Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney also plan to urge the US president to apply pressure on Israel to allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza, where the population is facing starvation.

When the UK and US signed a trade deal in June, it reduced tariffs on car and aerospace imports to the US.

But agreement on a similar arrangement for Britain’s steel imports was not reached, leaving tariffs on steel at 25%.

American concerns over steel products made elsewhere in the world, then finished in the UK, are said to be among the sticking points.

Starmer is expected to spend most of the day with President Trump on Monday, when he will have a chance to press the president on a steel deal.

But Business Secretary Reynolds suggested it may take more than a meeting between the two leaders to resolve the matter, telling BBC Breakfast: “We were very happy to announce the breakthrough that we had a few months ago in relation to sectors like automotive, aerospace, which are really important to the UK economy.

“But we always said it was job saved, but it wasn’t job done. There’s more to do.

“The negotiations have been going on on a daily basis since then. There’s a few issues to push a little bit further today.

“We won’t perhaps have anything to announce a resolution of those talks, but there’s some sectors that we still need to resolve, particularly around steel and aluminium, and there’s the wider conversation about what the US calls its reciprocal tariffs.”

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds has signalled there is ‘more to do’ on steel tariff talks with the US. (Jordan Pettitt/PA) PA Media

It comes after Trump announced he had agreed “the biggest deal ever made” between the US and the European Union after meeting Ursula von der Leyen for high-stakes talks at Turnberry on Sunday.

After a day playing golf, the US leader met the president of the EU Commission to discuss the broad terms of an agreement that will subject the bloc to 15% tariffs on most of its goods entering America.

This is lower than a 30% levy previously threatened by the US president.

Sir Keir is also likely to use his time with Trump to raise the starvation faced by the population of Gaza.

The Prime Minister has condemned Israel for restricting the flow of aid into the territory, alongside the leaders of France and Germany.

The UK will take part in efforts led by Jordan to airdrop aid into Gaza, Starmer said over the weekend.

Elsewhere, he is facing pressure from more than 220 MPs to immediately recognise the state of Palestine, something which French president Emmanuel Macron has promised to do.

Humanitarian aid is airdropped to Palestinians over Gaza City, Gaza Strip (Jehad Alshrafi/AP). PA Media

The US is the country “with the leverage” to make a difference in the conflict in Gaza, the Business Secretary suggested.

Reynolds told BBC Breakfast that Gaza would “of course” be on the agenda for the meeting of the two leaders, adding: “The intolerable scenes that we’re seeing, the world is seeing, are the backdrop to that.

“And of course, the US has itself secured on two occasions ceasefires in the conflict, so they have been actively engaged in it, working with Egypt, the Qataris, and other key partners in the region.”

Swinney also promised to raise Gaza with Trump, as it was “causing deep unease and concern and heartbreak within Scotland”.