UK still in talks with Trump to lift steel, whiskey tariffs: British envoy

By Miranda Davis, Michael Hirtzer and Romaine Bostick

 

The UK is still in talks with President Donald Trump’s administration for a deal to address US tariffs on steel and whiskey, according to the British Consul General in Chicago. 

The US imposed a 25 per cent tariff on British steel and 10 per cent on the spirit — levies that remain in place despite the UK being the first country to reach a trade agreement with Trump. Tariffs are hurting the whiskey industry on both sides of the Atlantic and the UK isn’t dumping the metal on US shores, said Richard Hyde, who represents British interests in the US Midwest region.

 

 

“We just need to keep pushing, keep pressing to remove tariffs where we can, whether it be on whiskey, whether it be on steel,” Hyde said on Bloomberg Television on Monday. “We want to see tariffs removed wherever we can remove them, and whiskey is absolutely a priority for us.”

 

The US is the biggest market for UK whiskey and tariffs are costing the industry almost 20 million euros a month in lost exports, the Scotch Whisky Association said. On the US side, the 10 per cent duty could lead to retail sales losses of more than $300 million, according to an analysis by the Distilled Spirits Council.

 

The UK produces a very specific type of steel that the American defense industry needs, Hyde said. The US insists that steel must be “melted and poured” in the UK to be able to take advantage of the tariff exemptions, a requirement which Tata Steel UK, one of the country’s largest producers, can no longer fulfill after closing its last blast furnace last year. The UK still has a lower US tariff on steel than other parts of the world, Hyde said.

 

Steel Quality 

“We produce a particular quality of steel in a relatively small volume, which is needed in the United States,” he said in an interview at Bloomberg’s Chicago office. “So the argument that we would make is that that steel is needed by you, it’s needed by very specific industries like defense. So we are not a threat.”

 

The US Supreme Court is expected to consider striking down most of the tariffs Trump has imposed since taking office. A ruling against the president on Wednesday would undercut his ability to use tariffs as an all-purpose tool to wring concessions out of trading partners and could mean refunds exceeding $100 billion.

 

As part of its trade deal with the US, the UK agreed to open its market to American agricultural exports such as beef and corn-based ethanol, offering those concessions in exchange for other trade priorities it wanted to advance, said Hyde. 

In September, the UK and the US signed the Tech Prosperity Deal to deepen collaboration in key technology areas including AI, quantum computing and nuclear energy. Since then, the US has announced a plan to promote the export of American AI. 

 

“That’s another area where we’re very keen that the US and UK partner on whatever that AI stack export program looks like, bringing in UK companies into that mix,” said Stephanie Ashmore, the UK’s director of science and technology in the Americas, who was in Chicago for the 2025 Quantum Summit.

 

Nuclear Energy 

Hyde will travel to Indiana later this week for an event with Rolls Royce, which is developing small modular nuclear reactors, or SMRs. The Hoosier state is considering how it can use the technology to supply its future energy needs at a time AI is boosting demand. 

 

While a number of US states have moratoriums on nuclear because of issues with waste disposal, many are now reconsidering it as a way to keep energy affordable as demand on grids increase, Hyde said.  

 

“This is a conversation about affordability and reliability of energy supply when demand is growing through data centers,” he said. “Pretty much every governor I speak to is really, really keen to explore SMRs. Royce is one of the technologies coming forward. There are other companies as well.”