UK-US tariff deal begins but still no news on steel

The agreement was signed at the G7 summit earlier this month

As part of the UK-US agreement, the UK will scrap a 20% tariff on US beef imports and raise the quota to 13,000 tonnes.

Some British farmers and consumers fear this could open the door to beef from cattle raised using hormones to boost their growth which many US American farmers use.

However, the government has said certification procedures and border checks will ensure hormone-reared beef does not enter the UK.

Up to 1.4 billion litres of US ethanol can also arrive in the UK tariff-free, doing away with the 19% tariff rate on US ethanol shipments previously.

But the UK bioethanol industry says the deal makes it impossible to compete with heavily subsidised US products.

In April, Trump imposed sweeping reciprocal duties on most trading partners worldwide but paused the tariffs days later to allow for negotiations.

On Friday, Trump said he had called off negotiations with Canada owing to the countrys digital services tax.

However, on Sunday, Canadas finance ministry said it had rescinded its digital services tax in a bid to advance trade talks.

The two nations share among the largest trading relationships globally, involving more than $900bn (£656bn) of goods and services in 2024.

Other countries are also in the queue to broker deals with the US.

Thailands commerce minister Pichai Naripthaphan has said the country will hold talks with the US, its largest trade partner, with hopes of reducing the tariffs imposed on Thai goods from 36% to as low as 10%.