Latest News and Information from the British Embassy
UK-US Trading & Economic Relationship
The first three months of 2022 have already seen several big moments in the UK-US trading & economic relationship. In late January 2022, the UK and US announced the start of bilateral discussions to address global steel and aluminium excess capacity. In late March, following two months of talks, Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan met with Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo in Washington DC to announced an expansive removal of section 232 tariffs, re-opening tariff free access for UK steel and aluminium exporters to the US. In response the UK will suspend rebalancing measures on US products including whiskey, blue jeans and motorcycles. The changes will take effect on 1 June 2022, and both sides have also agreed to work closely to address the wider issue of global steel excess capacity and market-distorting practices.
The announcement of a section 232 agreement came off the back of the inaugural UK-US Dialogue on the Future of Atlantic Trade. Hosted in Baltimore, Maryland on 21-22 March, Secretary Trevelyan and US Trade Representative Ambassador Katherine Tai met to explore how the United States and United Kingdom will collaborate to advance mutual international trade priorities rooted in our shared values, while promoting innovation and inclusive economic growth for workers and businesses on both sides of the Atlantic.
In a piece for the Baltimore Sun, Secretary Trevelyan wrote: “By working together, we can use trade to make a tangible difference to communities and livelihoods across the U.K. and the United States, helping level up economic opportunity on both sides of the Atlantic. We want to work in Maryland, and with Maryland, to deliver the benefits of trade far and wide as we seek to take the U.S.-U.K. trade partnership to the next level.”
Over the two-day period, Secretary Trevelyan and Ambassador Tai, and Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Jayme White, visited the Port of Baltimore and a local technology incubator, Fearless Tech; hosted a series of roundtable discussions with a diverse group of national and local workers, business and civil society stakeholders; and met bilaterally. Secretary Trevelyan and Ambassador Tai will use these Dialogues and their ongoing engagement with stakeholders to identify further steps to move forward our important U.S.-UK bilateral trade relationship and address our shared challenges and opportunities over the coming months. A second joint U.S./UK Dialogue on the Future of Atlantic Trade is being planned for the UK in late April 2022.