President Trump鈥檚 reciprocal tariffs may also result in products destined for the US market being redirected to the UK, negatively impacting our market.
NFU President Tom Bradshaw said: 鈥淲e have been working closely with the government in the lead up to the announcements. While the UK has been hit by a lower baseline tariff compared to the EU, this remains a challenge for the UK and for agriculture, with the US being our second largest export market beyond the EU.
鈥淲hile this is a developing and concerning situation, we are working in genuine partnership with the government and sharing our expertise on this to ensure, if there is any market disruption in response to a change in the movement of goods and products between affected countries, we can respond swiftly.
鈥淭he United States is the largest market for British agri-food products outside of the European Union and our farmers are proud to supply high quality, authentic, and unique British meats and cheeses to American consumers.
鈥淲e stand united in our desire to work together to ensure British farmers and growers are at the forefront of any decision-making and will continue to work hand in glove with government as the situation develops.鈥�
President Donald Trump has announced new import taxes on all goods entering the US, describing the new measures as 鈥渞eciprocal鈥� and needed to rectify trade imbalances.
Tariffs of 10% will be introduced from Saturday 5 April on all UK imports and 20% on those from the European Union a few days later. President Trump has said the measures were needed because countries were taking advantage of the US by imposing high tariffs and other trade barriers.
The decision to impose additional 10% tariffs upon these products means UK goods entering the US will lead to higher prices for US consumers and provide uncertainty for UK exporters.
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Notes to editor:
- The US is the second largest export market for UK agri-food beyond the EU. For example, as a proportion of total UK exports, the US market accounted for: 21% of beer made from malt, 18.2% of malt, 18.6% of spirits (including whisky and gin), 18.4% of fertilised eggs, 14.7% of wine, 8.3% cheese and 7.5% of our pork exports in 2023.
- The US is a global exporter of agriculture commodities, particularly inputs for animal feed and meat. In 2023, the top US agri commodities exports globally were soyabeans ($28bn), corn ($13bn), beef ($8bn), soyabean meal ($7bn), wheat ($6bn) and pork ($6bn). Currently from agriculture perspective the UK鈥檚 main imports from the US are animal feed inputs.
- In 2024 the UK exported 432,735 tonnes of food, beverages, and live animals to the USA, valued at 拢2.568 billion.
Within agri-food the five largest export categories were:
- Beverages, Spirits and Vinegar - 拢1.59 billion. Within this, Scotch Whisky makes most of the trade value (c. 拢913 million).
- Fish and crustaceans - 拢310 million. Within this, salmon drives the vast majority of the trade value.
- Preparations of cereals (e.g. breakfast cereals), flours, starch and milk including bakers鈥� wares - 拢199 million. Within this, infant formula is the single largest element at 拢74 million.
- Miscellaneous food preparations including sauces - c. 拢113 million.
- Dairy products and birds鈥� eggs - 拢97 million. Within this category Cheddar cheese is by far the largest item at 拢47 million.
For NFU members the exports of note to the USA are:
- Cheese and curd worth 拢75.27m.
- Infant formula 鈥� 拢74 million.
- Sweet biscuits (cereals) 鈥� 拢34 million.
- Pig meat - 拢18.9 million.
- Malt - 拢14.04 million.
- Fertilised birds鈥� eggs - 拢11.65 million.