UK goods exports to the United States have not rebounded following the introduction of import tariffs in April 2025 under President Donald Trump’s administration, resulting in a trade deficit between the two countries for the first time in several months. According to data released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), monthly UK exports of goods to the US averaged £4.7 billion from April 2025 to February 2026, down from an average of £5.5 billion in 2024.

The ONS attributed a £1.5 billion, or 25 percent, decline in exports immediately after the tariffs were implemented in April 2025, a reduction that has largely persisted. Excluding precious metals, exports of key sectors such as machinery, transport equipment, and chemicals—particularly medicinal and pharmaceutical products—also showed significant declines. Notably, car exports have remained below pre-tariff levels since the tariffs took effect.

The trade deficit emerged as the UK ran negative trade balances with the US for three consecutive months beginning December 2025. The tariffs were part of measures introduced shortly after Trump took office in January 2025. On April 2, 2025, marked by Trump as “liberation day,” most UK imports to the US faced a 10 percent tariff, except for steel and aluminium and cars and car parts, which were subject to a previously implemented 25 percent tariff that March.

Following negotiations, the UK and US announced an “economic prosperity deal” in May 2025 that reduced the car tariff to 10 percent on the first 100,000 UK car exports to the US each quarter. Despite this, the overall export volumes have remained subdued.

Industry experts have pointed to these developments as influencing UK manufacturers' strategic decisions. Fhaheen Khan, an economist at the manufacturing trade body Make UK, noted that the strained trade environment has led some UK businesses to explore opportunities beyond the US market. Supporting this view, the ONS survey from late February 2026 found that one in three UK businesses with 10 or more employees who had exported goods in the past year reported being affected by US tariffs, with nearly 19 percent citing additional costs.

While the US remains the UK’s largest export market, its share of UK goods exports declined to 14.9 percent from 17.2 percent in 2024. Meanwhile, markets in Hong Kong and Germany saw modest increases in their share of UK exports during the same period.

In a recent gesture coinciding with the state visit of King Charles and Queen Camilla, President Trump announced the removal of all tariffs and restrictions on Scottish whisky imports to the US, signaling a potential easing of trade tensions in select sectors. However, analysts from the Resolution Foundation observed that the broader impact of tariffs continues to suppress UK export growth to its key trading partner.