Britain ready to implement US tariff deal, trade minister says

LONDON (Reuters) -Britain is ready to implement its side of a tariff deal with the United States and is hopeful for a proclamation from U.S. President Donald Trump to put the agreement into effect in the coming days, trade minister Jonathan Reynolds said on Thursday.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Trump on May 8 agreed to reduce tariffs on UK imports of cars and steel to the U.S., with Britain agreeing to lower tariffs on beef and ethanol, but implementation of the deal has been delayed.

Reynolds met U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Tuesday and discussed the implementation of the deal. Asked on Thursday if there would be an update by the end of the week, Reynolds said he was "very hopeful".

"We're ready to go, and as soon as the president and the White House are ready to go on their side, we'll implement (our) part of the deal," Reynolds told reporters.

Reynolds said he would issue a government order known as a statutory instrument to implement the changes to reciprocal tariffs. Officials said that the update on implementation was likely to come early next week.

One of the details to be ironed out before the deal can be implemented is steel quotas. Reynolds added that he wanted to make sure  the tariff reductions applied to every bit of the UK steel industry, as the U.S. finalises quotas that will place supply chain requirements on British steel exports to the United States.    

The bioethanol industry has warned its future is under threat, with Associated British Foods deciding on the fate of a plant later this month. Reynolds acknowledged the deal could increase competition but said the industry was already struggling.

"We are very sensitive to the ethanol issue... (but) they're losing a lot of money already," Reynolds said, adding regulatory tweaks could help, but that for financial support: "any intervention I make has to be a clear route to profitability." 

"So there are much wider issues for these partners than just the U.S. trade deal."

(Reporting by Alistair Smout; Editing by Sharon Singleton)