Treasury minister James Murray said the UK should avoid a “knee-jerk response” after the UK was hit by President Trump’s tariffs on steel. The levy came in at midnight in the US, around 4am GMT.
Wednesday 12 March 2025 08:08, UK
By Alix Culbertson, political reporter
Up to 300,000 people with side hustles selling clothes on Vinted and eBay or making money from TikTok will no longer have to report their income to HMRC.
The threshold for having to file a self-assessment tax return for trading income will be lifted from £1,000 to £3,000 by the next election, set for 2029.
This will include people with side hustles selling vintage clothes on websites such as Vinted and eBay, selling handcrafted gifts on Etsy, dog walking, gardening, driving a taxi, delivering food, or creating online content.
However, they will still have to pay tax on anything earned over £1,000 – they just will not have to report their income until it gets to £3,000.
Tax minister James Murray said: “From trading old games to creating content on social media, we are changing the way HMRC works to make it easier for Brits to make the very most of their entrepreneurial spirit.
“Taking hundreds of thousands of people out of filing tax returns means less time filling out forms and more time for them to grow their side hustle.”
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Sky News’ deputy political editor Sam Coates and Politico’s Anne McElvoy have their guide to the day ahead in British politics.
Tariffs are back on the agenda for this morning’s episode – the US has put them on all steel and aluminium imports, including those from the UK.
How do ministers respond now? Does it go any further than the stiffly worded statement from business secretary Jonathan Reynolds?
And as the US and Ukraine await Russia’s response to the proposal for a 30 day ceasefire, what is the role of the Starmer government at the moment – and what are the negotiating tactics at play?
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As we’ve been reporting, US President Donald Trump last night unveiled a raft of global tariffs on steel and aluminium industries – which have hit both the UK and the European Union.
While the UK looks unlikely to immediately respond, the EU has already hit back with plans for counter tariffs on €26bn of US goods from 1 April.
Brussels said on Wednesday that it remains open to negotiations, insisting that the bloc considers these higher tariffs to be in “no one’s interests”.
The 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminium imports took effect at 4am GMT on Wednesday, as prior exemptions and duty free quotas expired.
Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, said the EU counter measures are “strong but proportionate”.
She added: “As the United States are applying tariffs worth $28bn we are responding with counter measures worth €26bn.
“The EU must act to protect its consumers and business.”
The new tariffs apply to products ranging from boats to bourbon and motorbikes, and the EU said it would now start a two-week consultation to pick other product categories.
The new measures will target around €18bn in goods, with the overall objective to ensure that the total value of the EU measures corresponds to the increased value of trade impacted by the new US tariffs, the EU said.
“In the meantime we will always remain open to negotiations,” von der Leyen said.
“We firmly believe that in a world fraught with geo-economics and political uncertainties, it is not in our common interest to burden our economies with such tariffs.
“We are ready to engage in a meaningful dialogue.”
James Murray, the Treasury minister, is now joining Wilfred Frost on Sky News Breakfast to discuss news of Donald Trump’s 25% tariffs on steel.
The minister says the levy is “obviously disappointing”.
“We’re champions of free and open trade, but our response to this is a pragmatic one,” Murray says.
“And it’s to continue negotiating rapidly for an economic agreement with the US, with the potential to eliminate additional tariffs because we know that’s in the best interests of UK business.”
The minister adds this is the “cool-headed, pragmatic approach” the UK will continue with the US.
Wilfred points out that this approach is very different to the European Union, which has said it will impose retaliatory measures on US goods starting on 1 April.
He says: “We’re in a very different position than the EU, as a result of the prime minister’s trip to Washington last month.
“The UK and the US have been negotiating rapidly for an economic agreement, and so we’re in a position where that negotiation is ongoing and these global tariffs have landed in the middle of that work.
“We don’t want to be pushed off course by this, we want to carry on with our rapid negotiation towards an economic agreement.”
But Murray says the UK should avoid a “knee-jerk response”.
“We think the right response is to continue pragmatically, cool-headedly, without a knee-jerk response, but toward our economic agreement that we’re negotiating with the US to secure, because that’s in the best interests of the UK.”
By Dan Whitehead, West of England and Wales correspondent
A “shattering blow” has been dealt to farmers with the sudden pausing for new applications for environmental payments, according to the National Farmers’ Union.
The NFU says it was given just 30 minutes notice by the government that applications for the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) were to close on Tuesday.
The post-Brexit scheme, launched in 2022, pays farmers and land managers to take up practices that improve productivity and protect the environment and climate.
There were more than 100 options for farmers to choose from, including the management of hedgerows, organic farming development and providing habitat for wildlife.
The government says the budget for SFI has now been reached, adding that a “record” 50,000 farm businesses and more than half of all farmed land is now managed under the schemes.
Both Conservatives and Liberal Democrat politicians have criticised the move and the lack of any prior warning.
By Jon Craig, chief political correspondent
Ousted Reform UK MP Rupert Lowe has told Sky News he has not ruled out joining the Conservatives or a new political party, declaring: “I’m keeping my options open.”
Lowe answered a series of questions from Sky News after the latest twist in his feud with Nigel Farage, with a police investigation launched into claims he threatened party chairman Zia Yusuf.
The Metropolitan Police announced it had launched an investigation “into an allegation of a series of verbal threats made by a 67-year-old man” between December 2024 and February 2025.
Responding to the police statement, Lowe said he had instructed lawyers, who had made contact with the Met and made them aware of his willingness to co-operate in any necessary investigation.
“My lawyers have not yet received any contact from the police,” he said.
“It is highly unusual for the police to disclose anything to the media at this stage of an investigation.”
As the UK wakes to news of US tariffs on steel, reaction is continuing to pour in from the industry and unions.
The latest comes from Unite, which has insisted the government must act “decisively to protect the steel industry and its workers following the announcement of US tariffs”.
Sharon Graham, the general secretary, said: “This is a matter of national security. Steel should be immediately designated as critical national infrastructure to properly protect it.
“Given the importance of steel to our economy and our everyday lives it is vital it is designated as critical national infrastructure and rules are introduced to ensure that the public sector always buys UK produced steel.”
Gareth Stace, the director general of trade association UK Steel, branded Trump’s move “hugely disappointing”.
He added: “President Trump must surely recognise that the UK is an ally, not a foe.
“Our steel sector is not a threat to the US but a partner to key customers, sharing the same values and objectives in addressing global overcapacity and tackling unfair trade.”
The government estimates around 5% of UK steel exports and 6% of aluminium exports by volume go to the US, although the aluminium industry body said the US market accounted for 10% of exports – valued at £225m.
By Alix Culbertson, political reporter
All 404 Labour MPs have been called to Downing Street to attend a “welfare roundtable” to discuss expected major benefit cuts.
Number 10’s policy unit is hosting the discussions on Wednesday and Thursday about the “future of the welfare system”.
The prime minister’s team is hoping to win over MPs concerned about sweeping reforms to the benefits system.
Sky News has seen the slots being offered to Labour’s 404 MPs, which involves three 45-minute sessions on Wednesday and three on Thursday.
Inviting all Labour MPs to Downing Street briefings is an unusual move, however, Number 10 said it is “entirely routine for MPs to come in for briefings”.
Donald Trump’s tariffs on UK steel “couldn’t come at a worse time”, the industry has warned as the levy on US imports is introduced.
The British steel and aluminium industries are braced for the impact of the US President’s tariffs, which came in at midnight in the US, around 4am GMT.
The UK government is unlikely to immediately retaliate to the 25% import tax, with officials stressing the need for a “cool-headed approach”, after last-ditch efforts to persuade Mr Trump to spare British industry from his global tariffs appeared to have failed.
However, this morning the European Union said it will impose retaliatory measures on US goods starting on 1 April.
Gareth Stace, the director general of trade association UK Steel, branded Trump’s move “hugely disappointing”.
He added: “President Trump must surely recognise that the UK is an ally, not a foe. Our steel sector is not a threat to the US but a partner to key customers, sharing the same values and objectives in addressing global overcapacity and tackling unfair trade.”
What could the impact be?
The government estimates around 5% of UK steel exports and 6% of aluminium exports by volume go to the US, although the aluminium industry body said the US market accounted for 10% of exports – valued at £225m.
Trump has previously threatened to impose tariffs on other countries and then relented, but he remains wedded to the overall idea of making the US richer through taxing imports.
Downing Street said there were “multiple engagements at multiple levels” with the US administration as the government attempted to spare UK exporters from the tariffs.
Good morning!
Welcome back to the Politics Hub on Wednesday, 12 March.
Overnight, US President Donald Trump announced a 25% tariff on UK steel, which the British industry has warned “couldn’t come at a worse time”.
The government is unlikely to immediately retaliate to the import tax, with officials stressing the need for a “cool-headed approach”, after last-ditch efforts to persuade Trump to spare British industry from his global tariffs appeared to have failed.
In the wake of this, Prime Minister Keir Starmer will face off with Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch in Prime Minister’s Questions at noon.
We’ll have full coverage here in the Politics Hub – so stay tuned.
Meanwhile, all 404 Labour MPs have been called to Downing Street to attend a “welfare roundtable” to discuss expected major benefit cuts.
Number 10’s policy unit is hosting the discussions today and Thursday about the “future of the welfare system”.
The prime minister’s team is hoping to win over MPs concerned about sweeping reforms to the benefits system.
We’ll be discussing all of that and more with…
Treasury minister James Murray at 7.15am
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