Workers work at the British Steel site in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, Britain April 17, 2025. Danny Lawson/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab.

Britain’s steel sector on Friday urged clarity on when U.S. tariffs will be scrapped under a landmark first deal to remove President Donald Trump’s levies on the sector.

Britain on Thursday hailed a deal with the U.S., which it said would reduce steel levies to 0% from 25% so that British producers could keep exporting to the United States.

However, details released late on Thursday showed the two sides must still formalise the security requirements and the quotas that the steel sector must abide by, leaving sector representatives unclear as to when levies will go.

“It’s certainly not a formality; I mean there’s clearly a lot that hasn’t been fully determined and defined in the agreement as of yet,” said Chrysa Glystra, Director, Trade and Economic Policy at industry body UK Steel.

Glystra added that firms did not know the supply chain conditions they would have to fulfil to take advantage of the tariffs.

“We don’t really have a sense of when this will take effect and what the timescales will be.”

Britain’s steel sector contributed 1.7 billion to the UK economy in 2024, 0.1% of total output, and the future of the industry has been in some doubt.

The government last month intervened to keep the blast furnaces burning at the UK’s last maker of virgin steel, seizing operational control from its Chinese owners.