Following President Donald Trump’s announcement of 10% tariffs on imports into the United States from the UK, the Government is weighing its options if its hoped-for trade agreement with the US fails to materialise.
President Trump has shown no sign of backing down from his decision to impose sweeping global tariffs despite stock markets in the US suffering significant turbulence and falls: Dow Jones down by nearly 4%, the S&P 500 falling by almost 5% and the Nasdaq by 6%.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has maintained his policy of not criticising Trump’s actions, while continuing to press for a bilateral trade deal, but the Government has also taken steps to prepare for the need to retaliate.
It has produced a list of more than 11,000 goods which the UK exports to the US and given British firms until 1 May to respond if they have evidence that imposing tariffs on any of those goods would adversely affect their business.
They are being asked to reply to questions asking them the average value of their US imports, the impact of any possible UK tariffs and how they would adjust to them. Full details of the Request for Input can be found HERE.
Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds gave a detailed statement to Parliament which can be found HERE. He said that, once the Request for Input closes, the Government will reflect on the feedback and consider how best to respond.
The Government has clarified that the new US tariffs do not apply to imports of: steel and aluminium articles and automobiles/automobile parts, which are subject to separate additional 25% tariffs; copper, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors and lumber; and energy, energy products and other minerals not available in the US.
