Commenting on the confirmation of 25% tariffs on steel exports from the EU to the US, UK Steel Director, Gareth Stace said: "President Trump had already loaded the gun and today, we now know that the US Administration has unfortunately fired it and potentially started a damaging trade war. Since President Trump stated his plans to impose blanket tariffs on steel imports almost three months ago, the UK steel sector had hoped for the best, but still feared the worst. With the expiration of the EU exemption now confirmed to take effect tomorrow [Friday, 1 June], unfortunately our pessimism was justified and we will now see damage not only to the UK steel sector, but also the US economy."

UK Steel's full press release is available here.