The United States and Britain have settled their dispute over special tariffs on steel and aluminium imports introduced under then-President Donald Trump.

This was announced in a statement by the two countries.

Britain will be allowed to import “historically-based sustainable volumes” of steel and aluminium duty-free into the U.S. again from June 1, according to a statement from Washington.

The duty-free trade volume should roughly correspond to that of 2018-2019 when there were no punitive tariffs.

“In response, the UK will suspend rebalancing measures on U.S. products including whiskey, blue jeans and motorcycles,” the British government said in a statement. 

The U.S. said those exports are worth $500 million.

The agreement followed the model of a deal between the government of U.S. President Joe Biden and the European Union at the end of 2021. 

A similar deal with Japan was announced in February.

Mr Trump had cited national security concerns to justify the tariffs of up to 25 per cent.

When Mr Biden took office over a year ago, he promised to mend relations with U.S. allies that were damaged under Mr Trump. 

(dpa/NAN)