US rejects invite for face-to-face talks on UK steel dispute

There are hopes in the UK trade department that a virtual meeting will be held instead.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo | Jeff Kowalski/AFP via Getty Images

BY EMILIO CASALICCHIO
January 13, 2022 2:08 pm

LONDON — The U.K. was dealt a blow after Washington rejected an invitation to discuss a major trade dispute in person this month.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo will not come to London in the coming fortnight to negotiate an easement for Britain of punishing steel and aluminum tariffs.

British International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan offered the invitation last month during a trip to Washington aimed at resolving the issue.

There are hopes in the U.K. trade department that a virtual meeting will be held instead — which could take place as soon as next week. But the U.S. has yet to confirm the plan.

“The administration is looking to take this up when the time is right,” a U.S. commerce spokesperson said. “While Secretary Raimondo appreciates the kind invitation, she’s not in a position to travel to London in-person at this time.”

The U.K. opposition Labour Party seized on the rejection of in-person talks in the coming weeks. “This is bitterly disappointing news for the U.K.’s steel and aluminum manufacturers and for the many jobs, livelihoods, and businesses who rely on this industry,” said Shadow International Trade Secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds.

“Labour has been calling for the prime minister to personally intervene with the U.S. president and show the leadership this issue requires … This government needs to treat this issue with the seriousness our communities deserve, and to lean on the special relationship with the U.S.”

A U.K. trade department official put the move down to the COVID pandemic: "Given the current uncertainty around the Omicron variant, it is understandable that foreign ministers are not able to commit to international travel for in-person meetings."

The official said the invitation to discuss steel tariffs included the option of "virtual means," and added: "We maintain the urgent need to make progress on this issue to lift the prospect of further retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods."

A spokesperson for Prime Minister Boris Johnson added: "We look forward to virtual discussions with the U.S."

In remarks on Wednesday, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai tried to assure her counterparts in London that the talks will indeed take place — just not yet.

She told reporters the reason the U.S. did a deal with the EU and not the U.K. was “a matter of pragmatism” and that “the U.K. is very much on our minds, and I am confident that we will take this up when the time is right.”

Some in London believe the U.S. is stalling on the issue until a Brexit dispute between the U.K. and EU is resolved. The dispute is thought in Washington to be putting peace in Northern Ireland at risk.

Esther Webber contributed reporting.