U.S., UK 'getting close' to deal to lift steel tariffs -Raimondo

By Andrea Shalal and David Shepardson

BALTIMORE, Md. (Reuters) -The United States and Britain are "getting close" to a deal that would remove U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs and retaliatory British tariffs on blue jeans, whiskey and motorcycles, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said on Tuesday.

British trade minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan told reporters she would meet Raimondo in Washington on Tuesday, and said the two sides had been making good progress in talks launched in January on the longstanding irritant in U.S.-UK trade ties.

Four sources familiar with the matter said the two officials were expected to finalize a deal on removing the tariffs when they meet in Washington on Tuesday afternoon.

Trevelyan was in Baltimore this week for two days of meetings with U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai on expanding U.S.-UK trade ties.

Raimondo, who leads the U.S. side of the talks on tariff reductions, told reporters at a separate event in Washington that she had no news to report on the negotiations.

"We're working very hard. We are getting close but I have no news to report now," Raimondo said.

Trevelyan, speaking in Baltimore, said: "We’ve been making good progress. We'll see where we get to."

Late on Monday, the Daily Mail reported that the deal called for the United States to remove 25% tariffs on British steel and aluminum exports put in place under former President Donald Trump, while Britain would drop 25% retaliatory tariffs on Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) motorcycles and U.S. whiskey, blue jeans and tobacco.

A spokesperson for the British government said the sides had been working "at pace" and confirmed that Trevelyan and Raimondo would meet Tuesday.

"We are optimistic that a deal could be reached soon," the spokesperson said.

The Daily Mail quoted Trevelyan as saying she believed a deal on tariffs could pave the way for resumption of formal negotiations on a free trade agreement. Those were put on ice when President Joe Biden took office in January 2021.

However, one of the sources said that was not under active discussion.

The United States and Britain launched formal talks on the steel and aluminum tariffs in January and agreed to work toward "an expeditious outcome that ensures the viability of steel and aluminum industries in both markets."

Britain is keen to negotiate duty-free access to American steel and aluminum markets similar to that Washington granted to the European Union on Jan. 1 under a quota deal reached last October that took six months to negotiate.

The Trump administration imposed U.S. metals tariffs - 25% on steel and 10% on aluminum - in March 2018 under the Section 232 national security law to protect U.S. producers from subsidized imports.

U.S. steelmakers worry that American negotiations with Britain and similar talks with Japan will further drive up imports, which jumped nearly 50% last year.