The US has agreed to ease Trump-era tariffs on UK steel and aluminium shipments, resolving an issue that had strained relations between the allies.
The move follows earlier deals with the European Union and Japan over the controversial taxes, which were imposed by former President Donald Trump in 2018 in the name of national security.
In exchange, the UK will suspend extra taxes it had put on US products such as bourbon and Levi’s jeans.
Business groups welcomed the decision.
There’s just one week to go before the United States is scheduled to impose a new round of tariffs on $156 billion of Chinese imports. Meanwhile, both sides are still working toward an elusive “phase one” trade deal that could bring some relief to battered global economies.
President Donald Trump said this week that it might be better to wait until after the 2020 US presidential election to strike a deal with China. That assessment came just a week after he said negotiations were in their “final throes.”
Investors should by now be wise to jawboning from the White House. Yet the consensus is that both countries are in fact moving toward a deal. Beijing offered a concession on Friday that may prove pivotal, pledging to reduce tariffs on US soybeans and pork.
The manufacturers most affected by US tariffs on imported goods are worried about their future, according to the Federal Reserve.
The Fed’s Beige Book, which compiles anecdotes on business activity from across its 12 districts, showed Wednesday that manufacturers in all districts expressed concern about tariffs. In many districts, manufacturers said US trade policy had driven up their costs and disrupted supply.
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