(Bloomberg) -- The U.S. and U.K. will start talks aimed at addressing global excess capacity in steel and aluminum, with the discussions also addressing Washington’s tariffs on imports of the metals from the U.K. 

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, and U.K. Secretary of State for International Trade Anne-Marie Trevelyan on Wednesday held a virtual meeting in which they discussed the impact on their industries stemming from global excess capacity driven largely by China, their offices said in a joint statement.  

“The distortions that result from this excess capacity pose a serious threat to market-oriented steel and aluminum industries in the United States and the United Kingdom, and to the workers in those industries,” they said. Raimondo and Trevelyan, together with U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, will discuss the mutual resolution of concerns in this area, including appropriate trade measures, to preserve the industries, they said. 

The Trump administration imposed a 25% steel tariff, along with a 10% duty on aluminum imports, in March 2018 on a range of nations, using a national-security provision in a 1962 trade law.

The negotiations with the U.K. come after the U.S. and the European Union in October brokered a deal for Washington to ease those tariffs, which had been imposed while the U.K. was still a member of the bloc. With Britain having since completed the divorce, the tariffs remain in place for the U.K.

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