UK spared Donald Trump's doubling of steel tariffs - but what about Scotch whisky and salmon?

The US has doubled its import tariffs on steel and aluminium - but the UK has been granted a temporary exemption.

US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to double US aluminium and steel import tariffs to 50 per cent.

However the UK has not been included in this order, and the levy for British firms remains at 25 per cent.

US President Donald Trump. | Getty Images

Last month the UK and the US signed a deal which would see steel and aluminium levies axed completely, but this agreement is yet to come into force.

Mr Trump warns the US may still increase these tariffs may still increase for the UK “on or after 9 July” if the US “determines that the UK has not complied with relevant aspects of the economic prosperity deal”.

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The move has been welcomed by the steel industry, with Gareth Stace, chief executive of UK Steel, saying the sector can “breathe a temporary sigh of relief”.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme, he said: “What we really want to get is those tariffs removed.

“We hope that a deal can be made soon enough, and certainly before 9 July, which is the next deadline in our tariff story.”

Tariffs on other UK goods to the US remain at 10 per cent and are not part of this new executive order.

Therefore, major Scottish exports to the US such as whisky and salmon, are still faced with these levies.

The US is the largest export market for the Scotch whisky industry by market value - in 2024, US exports were worth £971 million to the industry.

Mr Trump had introduced a 25 per cent levy on single malts back in 2019 during his first term in the White House, which cost the industry around £600m.

America is second only to France as the largest export market for Scottish salmon, accounting for £225m of the total £844m exports in 2024.

A UK government spokesperson said it was “pleased that as a result of our agreement with the US, UK steel will not be subject to these additional tariffs”.

They added: “We will continue to work with the US to implement our agreement, which will see the 25 per cent US tariffs on steel removed.”