AHDB: The US imposes 10 percent tariff on all UK exports
Several countries will be subject to country specific tariffs that will take effect on 9 April 2025. This includes 20% tariff for the EU and 54% for China (including previous tariffs announced). The 25% on Canada and Mexico that were announced last month will be unchanged.
These announcements go against the World Trade Organisation (WTO) which aims to facilitate free, predictable and smooth global trade. The new imposed tariffs will increase barriers to trade globally. The WTO also has the “most-favored nation” (MFN) principle which means that countries cannot discriminate between their trading partners, so all members are treated equally when it comes to trade. This principle has been ignored as the US has implemented different tariffs on different countries.
The UK’s main exports to the US include machinery, cars, pharmaceuticals, fishing and electronics. The announcements also included a 25% tariff on foreign made cars. There are potential global economic implications from these announcements, as we have seen on global stock markets this morning. There could also be impacts on inflation as tariffs make imported goods more expensive, and as well as slowing down global trade volumes and subsequently slowing global economic growth.
The main agricultural exporters to the US are Canada, Mexico, the EU, Australia and New Zealand. The US imported £7bn of beef, £1.2bn of pork, £1.14bn sheep meat and £1.4bn of cheese (2022-24 3 year average).
The main exporters of beef to the US include:
The main exporters of pork to the US include:
The main exporters of cheese to the US include:
This will be a major disruptor of global trade, but the impacts will be difficult to predict until we know how the various trading partners will react. As this starts to become clear we will be able to examine the impacts on the UK and global markets. It is likely that there will be changes to trade flows and we will examine the impact how trade will be displaced especially with key agricultural exporters such as Canada, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand.
The UK exports to the US include:
Currently the UK has access to the US rest of the world quota for beef exports. This quota was filled by 17 January in 2025, and then any beef exports are subject to tariffs of 26.4%. It is unclear whether the new 10% tariffs will be additional to the current 26.4% tariff. Additionally, it is unclear whether the 10% tariff will be additional to those countries who already have Free Trade Agreements in place.
Further clarification is needed regarding the how these tariffs will be implemented alongside current FTAs, quotas and agreements. AHDB will be monitoring this and doing more in depth analysis on the implication of the tariffs on global trade and the economy.
This fair, which is being held in the pavilion organized by ICEX Spain Export and Investment, is ...
European pig prices then saw a noticeable fall in the first few weeks of 2025, with the EU averag...
According to Eurostat data, comparing January 2024 with January 2025, there has been a decrease o...
