Trump’s tariff salvo blindsides UK manufacturers
Donald Trump has blindsided UK manufacturers by slapping fresh tariffs of up to 25 per cent on more than 400 categories of British goods, from shampoo and children’s highchairs to motorcycles and diggers.
Conservative shadow trade secretary Andrew Griffith accused ministers of failing to protect exporters, saying: “When it comes to protecting UK businesses from US tariffs, Starmer is ‘all hat, no cattle’.”
“His ‘tiny tariff’ agreement turns out to have more holes than one of Donald Trump’s golf courses and the trade secretary doesn’t even know what tariffs apply where. Downing Street need to spend less time on negotiating away Chagos and more sweating the detail on US trade.”
The move, which UK officials say took them by surprise, comes just months after London and Washington hailed a “breakthrough” deal on steel and aluminium.
That agreement was supposed to cut the 25 per cent tariff on UK metals to zero – but implementation has stalled amid US concerns over the origins of some British exports.
Manufacturers warn of a ‘very damaging’ impact
Industry leaders have described the latest measures as “very damaging to British industry”.
JCB chief executive Graeme Macdonald, whose firm exports £2bn worth of diggers and machinery to the US, said the sudden changes have created chaos in American ports.
“This has blindsided everybody … there’s a huge backlog of imported goods in every port now in the US”,he warned, urging ministers to strike a deal quickly.
Motorbike maker Triumph, which sold over 100,000 bikes last year, also said the tariffs came as a shock.
Chief executive Nick Bloor said the decision was “a surprise, especially given the recently negotiated trade agreements”.
Peter Brennan of UK Steel added: “Orders are being cancelled or delayed – sometimes costing firms millions of pounds – because this trade negotiation is still ongoing.”
Trade talks and political pressure
The expanded tariff list, which includes items as varied as tableware, washing machines and even condensed milk in aluminium packaging, followed lobbying from US steel companies urging the White House to prioritise domestic production.
While Downing Street insists the UK remains the only country to have avoided Trump’s 50 per cent metals tariff, the government admitted the timing of the latest announcement was unexpected.
Officials have said they would continue working with Washington to “give industry the security they need, protect vital jobs, and put more money in people’s pockets”.
Trump, meanwhile, on his Truth Social platform, has trumpeted new Congressional Budget Office estimates that tariffs will cut America’s budget deficit by $4trn over the next decade.