Trade analysts say a recent court ruling at the US Court of International Trade against former President Donald Trump’s global tariff policy could undermine Britain’s efforts to secure promised tariff cuts for UK car and steel exports to the United States. In an FT report , the commentators warned that the legal setback may distract the White House from following through on commitments made with the UK earlier this month. The ruling does not directly change the sector-specific duties on cars or steel, but it wipes out Trump’s 10% global tariff and the extra duties on some trading partners. There is a fear that the decision will add more uncertainty to US trade policy and could slow the process of removing higher duties on key UK exports. Trade analysts point out that President Trump and UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer agreed on tariff cuts on British cars and steel in a non-binding deal signed on May 8. To date, none of those reductions have taken effect. “Everything is pretty chaotic. Lots of things need sign-off from the top. This will cause more chaos, more confusion,” said David Henig of the European Center for International Political Economy. He noted that many trade changes require direct approval from the president and that the court defeat could slow decision-making in Washington. “Both the United States and the United Kingdom recognize that this document does not constitute a legally binding agreement,” the deal’s text says. This means that any tariff cuts agreed by the two leaders still need formal action before they can be applied. Under the deal, Mr. Trump offered to cut the 27.5% US tariff on cars to 10% for the first 100,000 vehicles shipped from the UK. Both governments are in talks over when that change could come into effect. At the same time, Sir Keir Starmer said the US had agreed to remove its 25% duty on UK steel and aluminium, bringing those rates to zero. In return, the UK has opened up its markets further to US goods, offering more access to American beef, ethanol and certain industrial products. This reciprocal approach was intended to balance the benefits on both sides, but it too awaits full implementation. UK pushes for a confirmed tariff deal UK Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds is due to meet US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer next week at an OECD conference in Paris. He aims to nail down precise “timelines” for putting the tariff cuts into place. A spokesman for Mr. Reynolds said on Thursday that the talks were still expected to go ahead and described the US court ruling as “a matter for the US to determine domestically.” A British government spokesperson said the UK was the first country to secure such a deal with the US and that it “will protect British business and jobs across key sectors, from autos to steel.” They added: “We are working to ensure that businesses can benefit from the deal as quickly as possible and will confirm next steps in due course.” At the White House, a spokesperson said the administration was working closely with its British counterparts “to fully implement the terms of this landmark agreement in short order and expand bilateral trade between our nations.” Their comments echoed earlier promises but did not add new dates or actions. Since the pact was agreed, leaders in the British car industry have pressed for clarity on whether the new 10% rate could apply retrospectively from its announcement. Jaguar Land Rover paused shipments to the US in April when the old tariffs took effect, and only resumed exports earlier this month at the 27.5% level. The global trade war still goes on While the decision marks a legal defeat for Trump, it is unlikely to scare him off from using tariffs to reshape global commerce in America’s favor, according to a WSJ report . The administration has already announced plans to appeal , and trade lawyers note that other legal paths remain open, allowing the president to pursue steep duties through different channels. “This is just one more bump in the tariff road that we are going to be on for as long as Trump remains in office,” said Deborah Elms, head of trade policy at the Hinrich Foundation in Singapore. “He loves tariffs and he loves the idea of being able to impose them at will, and I don’t think he’s going to give that up easily.” While the administration’s appeal could carry the case up to the Supreme Court, it remains unclear whether the struck-down tariffs will stay in place during the appeal process. In the meantime, Asian stock markets rallied: Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closed up 1.35%, and Tokyo’s Nikkei rose 1.88% on Thursday. Jeffy Ma, who runs a hat factory in Guangzhou, called the ruling “good news,” but added, “After all, tariffs haven’t been completely canceled.” William Su, CEO of Teamson, which supplies Chinese-made toys to US retailers, noted that “some large retailers are asking us to see if we can ship more now,” yet warned that the uncertainty could still deter orders. Cryptopolitan Academy: Want to grow your money in 2025? Learn how to do it with DeFi in our upcoming webclass. Save Your Spot
