Aluminum and steel: U.S. and Uk begin dialogue to resolve tariff disputes

The U.S. and Britain began dialogue on Wednesday, Jan. 19, in order to resolve the dispute over tariffs that have been imposed by the Trump administration on imported aluminum and steel.

Senior trade officials in Washington and London reported that they are committed to working toward a quick outcome resulting from a global overcapacity of primary aluminum, primarily due to China.

U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo met virtually with Britain’s International Trade Secretary Anne Marie Trevelyan and pledged to find effective solutions.

Tariffs imposed on Britain have caused friction with the United States, which, in turn, has retaliated with punitive tariffs on American goods.

Officials discussed the impact on their industries resulting from global overcapacity driven largely by China. The distortions resulting from this overcapacity pose a serious threat to the market-oriented steel and aluminum industries in the U.S. and UK UK, and to workers in these industries.

In June 2018, former U.S. President Donald Trump had earlier imposed a 10 percent tariff on aluminum and 25 percent tariff on steel, confirming that excessive metal dumping would cause negative effects on domestic producers.