UK trade still reeling from US tariffs

Tariffs are supposed to change behavior fast. This one did — and the damage has lingered. New UK data shows British goods exports to the US dropped hard after Washington’s April 2025 tariff wave and never really bounced back through February 2026. That matters because the US is still the UK’s biggest export market, so this is not some niche customs story. It is a direct hit to one of Britain’s most important trade lanes. (ons.gov.uk) ### What changed this week? The new bit is the Office for National Statistics pulling the post-tariff period into one clear picture. Goods exports to the US, excluding precious metals, fell by £1.5 billion in April 2025 right after the tariffs landed — a 24.7% drop — and the ONS says they have stayed relatively low ever since. That turns a noisy political fight into a measurable trade pattern. (ons.gov.uk) ### Which tariffs are we talking about? This goes back to the Trump administration’s tariff push after January 20, 2025, then the broader April 2 package. Most UK goods going into the US got hit with a 10% blanket tariff. Steel, aluminum, ca(ons.gov.uk)ged. (ons.gov.uk) ### Didn’t the UK and US cut a deal? Yes — but only partly, and not instantly. London and Washington announced the Economic Prosperity Deal on May 8, 2025, and it took effect on June 30. That deal cut the car tariff to 10% for the first 100, (ons.gov.uk)-tariff world. (ons.gov.uk) ### Why are cars such a big clue? Because cars are exactly the kind of export that exposes how sticky tariff damage can be. The ONS says UK car exports to the US fell after the tariffs were introduced and stayed below pre-tariff levels throu(ons.gov.uk)shock and a structural drag. (ons.gov.uk) ### What happened on the import side? Imports from the US picked up while UK exports stayed weak. The ONS says US goods imports exceeded UK goods exports for three straight months starting in December 2025. In plain English, Britain flipped into a goods trade deficit with the US on this measure. Bloomberg and CNBC both framed that as a sharp reversal from the earlier pattern of UK surpluses. (ons.gov.uk) ### Why hasn’t the trade deal fixed it? Because tariffs are only part of the cost once disruption starts. Buyers change suppliers. Exporters rewrite contracts. Compliance rules get tighter. Shipping plans get rebuilt. And if your product now(ons.gov.uk)n sectors like autos and metals, where supply chains are long and certification matters. (ons.gov.uk) ### Why does this matter beyond trade nerds? Because the US still dominates the UK’s export map. UK government trade data for the year to Q3 2025 put total UK-US trade in goods and services at £329.5 billion, with the US accounting for 17.5%(ons.gov.uk)lists. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk) ### Bottom line The headline is simple: the tariffs landed in spring 2025, and the trade lane still looks bent a year later. The UK-US deal softened some of the worst pain, but it did not undo the shock. Britain is still selling into a market that became more expensive, more conditional, and harder to plan around. (ons.gov.uk)