Fears Tata Steel could be excluded from Starmer’s Trump tariff deal
Ministers are reportedly working to stop the UK’s biggest steelmaker, Tata Steel, from being left out of tariff-free access to the US under Keir Starmer’s trade deal with Donald Trump,The prime minister said on Wednesday that he hoped his deal with the US – which has been agreed but not signed – would come into effect “in just a couple of weeks”, after the US president decided to pause 50% tariffs on British steel and aluminium products for five weeks,However, the deal could end up excluding Indian-owned Tata Steel, which runs the vast Port Talbot steelworks in south Wales, because of the origin of some of its products, its bosses fear,The company exports more than $100m worth of goods into the US market every year,Tata Steel shut down its blast furnace at Port Talbot last year owing to its transition to a greener electric arc furnace.
As part of that change, the company has imported steel from its sister companies in India and Europe to ship on to customers.However, this could breach US import rules that require all steel to be “melted and poured” in the country from which it is imported.UK negotiators have been trying to secure a carve-out for Tata, according to the Times.A government source reportedly told the paper that they were confident a deal could be struck to protect Tata but said negotiations were “complex”.The UK government has also come under pressure from the US over British Steel, which is owned by the Chinese Jingye group.
In April the government used emergency legislation to take control of the site in Scunthorpe amid fears the Chinese company planned to let its blast furnaces run cold.However, US representatives are concerned that Chinese involvement in British Steel could allow Beijing to use the company as a “back door” into the US for Chinese products, according to the Times.The US has this week doubled tariffs on foreign steel and aluminium imports to 50%, which applies to all trading partners except Britain.The rate for steel and aluminium imports from the UK will remain at 25% until at least 9 July although the exact size of Britain’s steel quota is unclear.As part of Starmer’s deal with Trump last month, the US agreed to cut the 25% tariff rate on British steel and aluminium exports to zero, but this has not yet been finalised.
Steel manufacturers say delays to implementing the trade deal have lost them business,Speaking to MPs before the announcement, Russell Codling, a director at Tata Steel, said that about £150m of business was affected by tariffs,“If we can get this deal enacted as quickly as possible … it will get stability for us and for our customers in the US,” he said,
‘I’ve got nothing to prove’: George Ford on inspiring Sale and why 99 England caps are not enough
The tactically brilliant fly-half will attempt to overcome his former club Leicester in Saturday’s Premiership semi-finalShould Leicester fail to reach this year’s Premiership final they will have been floored by a familiar foe. George Ford spent two spells totalling nine years at Welford Road and made his Tigers first-team debut as a 16-year-old. It says everything about his enduring desire and dedication that, aged 32 and clad in the blue of Sale Sharks, his tactical decision-making grows sharper by the year.Whether he is kicking teams to death or slicing them apart with his deft short passing game, the GF menu of fly-half skills remains rich and varied. His fellow squad members all regard him as a coach in waiting, so good is he at steering them around the field and managing pressure situations
The unsinkable Pacers don’t need the lead. They just need the last word | Claire de Lune
Indiana didn’t lead for 47 minutes and 59.7 seconds of Thursday’s NBA finals opener. But belief, defiance and Tyrese Haliburton’s dramatic flair made the final 0.3 countThis is why you play the games, as the old adage goes. In recent years, the later rounds of the NBA playoffs – and the finals in particular – have felt rote
Chess: Carlsen targets last classical hurrah at Stavanger after defeat against Gukesh
Magnus Carlsen’s shock loss to Gukesh Dommaraju was the world No 1’s first classical defeat by a classical world champion since he lost to Vishy Anand 15 years ago at the 2010 London Classic. It spoilt what should have been a winning position for him at Stavanger, where he was poised to break clear of the field. There are now suggestions that this will be Carlsen’s farewell appearance in classical. He told Take Take Take: “It’s a long time since I enjoyed a classical tournament.”Meanwhile, though, Carlsen could go out on a high on Saturday afternoon when he and Gukesh fight for first prize in the final round at Stavanger (4pm start), with Hikaru Nakamura and Fabiano Caruana also still in contention
Indiana Pacers 111-110 Oklahoma City Thunder: NBA finals Game 1 – as it happened
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NBA finals: Indiana Pacers stun Oklahoma City Thunder in final second to win Game 1 thriller
Nearly every analyst coming into this year’s NBA finals had the Oklahoma City Thunder beating the Indiana Pacers comfortably. The first three quarters of Game 1 did very little to contradict those predictions until the final minutes, when all hell broke loose.The reigning NBA MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, looked like, well, the NBA MVP for much of the game as he led the scoring with 38 points. His Thunder team went out to an early 7-0 lead and were 57-45 up by half-time. The second half seemed to be going the same way with the Thunder 15 points up at one point in the fourth quarter
‘A great privilege’: Mal Meninga locked in as Perth Bears’ inaugural NRL coach
The Perth Bears hope the presence of Mal Meninga will give the NRL’s 18th team immediate cut-through in an AFL-dominated city after unveiling the Immortal as the head coach of the start-up franchise.At a press conference in Sydney on Friday, Meninga was locked in as the Bears’ inaugural coach on a three-year deal. It is his first foray into club coaching in more than 25 years.Meninga has renounced his role as coach of the Australian Test team ahead of an end-of-season Ashes tour. The 64-year-old will now set about building a competitive roster for the Bears’ first NRL season in 2027
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I thought it was being gay that made my life so difficult. Then, at 50, I got an eye-opening diagnosis …