UK trade with the United States: exports and imports of goods following the introduction of US tariffs, April 2025 to February 2026

• Goods exports to the United States, excluding precious metals, fell by £1.5 billion (24.7%) in April 2025 following the introduction of tariffs and have remained relatively low since.

• Exports of cars to the United States have fallen since the introduction of tariffs and have remained below pre-tariff levels since April 2025.

• Goods imports from the United States, excluding precious metals, have exceeded goods exports to the United States for three consecutive months since December 2025.

• The United States remains our largest goods export partner and third-largest goods import partner.

Since taking office on 20 January 2025, President Donald Trump has introduced a range of tariffs on imports of goods into the United States. On 2 April 2025, tariffs on goods imports to the United States were announced for a large number of countries. Most imports from the UK were subject to a blanket 10% tariff, notably exempting imports of steel and aluminium, and cars and car parts, which were subject to a previously announced 25% tariff placed on them in March 2025.

On 8 May 2025, the UK and United States Governments announced the Economic Prosperity Deal (PDF, 139KB) aimed at reducing the impact of United States tariffs on UK industries. The deal includes reducing the 25% tariff on imports of cars to 10% on the first 100,000 UK car exports to the United States per quarter. Additionally, the deal could remove tariffs on steel and aluminium exports on the condition of meeting supply chain security requirements such as mandatory traceability, vetting and origin rules. This deal came into effect on 30 June 2025. More detail on the United States trade tariffs can be found on the House of Commons Library website.

In this article, we present the latest monthly data on trade in goods with the United States up to February 2026. This article examines trends on the UK's trade in goods with the United States before and after the implementation of tariffs. This article compares the post-tariff period, defined in this article as April 2025 to February 2026, with the 12 months to December 2024.

Trade statistics in this article exclude non-monetary gold and other precious metals (including silver, platinum and palladium). This is because movements in these commodities can be large and highly volatile, distorting underlying trends in goods exports and imports. Trade statistics in this article are not seasonally adjusted and are in value terms (current prices) and are therefore not adjusted for inflation.

The value of goods exports to the United States saw a large increase in March 2025, with exports increasing by £0.8 billion (14.7%) to £6.2 billion (Figure 1), the highest level since May 2023. This increase was likely the result of UK exporters bringing forward trade, and importers in the United States stockpiling ahead of tariffs being imposed.

Following the introduction of tariffs, UK goods exports to the United States fell by £1.5 billion (24.7%) to £4.7 billion in April 2025 compared with March 2025. The value of goods exports to the United States was £0.8 billion (14.1%) lower in April 2025 than in April 2024. Goods exports to the United States have remained relatively low, with the value of exports remaining below pre-tariff levels consistently between April 2025 and February 2026.

According to our Business insights and impact on the UK economy Wave 151 dataset (XLSX, 1.71MB), UK exporters have consistently reported challenges associated with United States tariffs. In late February 2026, 33.0% of businesses with 10 or more employees that had exported goods in the last 12 months reported they were affected by United States tariffs in the last month, with 18.7% reporting experiencing additional costs.

The value of goods imports from the United States rose in the months following the US election in November 2024, before falling again into the summer months of 2025. There was a steady increase in imports in the second half of 2025, with goods imports from the United States peaking at £5.3 billion in January 2026.

The trade in goods balance with the United States has weakened following the implementation of tariffs. Exports of goods have remained low, while imports of goods have increased at the start of 2026. This has resulted in the trade in goods balance with the United States falling to a deficit for three consecutive months from December 2025.

Figure 1: Exports of goods to the United States increased before tariffs took effect, and have remained relatively low following the introduction of tariffs

Goods imports from and exports to the United States, excluding precious metals, current prices, non-seasonally adjusted, January 2024 to February 2026

The United States remains the UK's main trading partner for exports of goods, however, the proportion of total UK exports of goods that go to the United States has fallen since the introduction of trade tariffs. Exports to the United States between April 2025 and February 2026 accounted for 14.9% of all goods exports during this period. This is lower than in 2024, when goods exported to the United States accounted for 17.2% of all UK goods exports.

There has been a slight increase in the market share of some of the other country trading partners since April 2025, with Hong Kong and Germany seeing the largest rises. The proportion of UK goods exports going to Hong Kong between April 2025 and February 2026 has risen by 0.8 percentage points compared with 2024. Similarly, the proportion of UK goods exports going to Germany between April 2025 and February 2026 has risen by 0.6 percentage points compared with 2024.

These trends could indicate a change in the direction of trade flows for UK goods exports since the introduction of tariffs. According to our Business insights and impact on the UK economy Wave 151 dataset (XLSX, 1.71MB), 2.3% of businesses with 10 or more employees that had exported goods in the last 12 months reported that they had explored new export markets. However, the changes in market share are relatively small and are not conclusive evidence that UK exporters have begun to redirect goods previously exported to the United States to other destinations.

The United States remains the UK's third-largest trading partner for imports of goods, behind Germany and China. Imports of goods are not subject to increased tariffs. The proportion of total UK goods imports that come from the United States has also decreased. Imports from the United States between April 2025 and February 2026 accounted for 9.1% of all goods imports. This is lower than in 2024, when goods imported from the United States accounted for 9.7% of all goods imports.

By comparing the monthly values against a baseline of the monthly average for 2024, we can see that there has likely been a negative impact on exports of some commodities to the United States following the introduction of tariffs.

The increase in goods exports to the United States in March 2025 was linked to increases in exports of machinery and transport equipment, and material manufactures (excluding precious metals). Following the implementation of tariffs, the fall in exports of machinery and transport equipment was the main driver of the overall decrease in goods exports to the United States (Figure 2). This fall was mainly the result of lower car exports. Chemical exports have also fallen since the introduction of tariffs, primarily because of a fall in exports of medicinal and pharmaceutical products.

Figure 2: A fall in exports of machinery and transport equipment is the main driver of the decrease in goods exports to the United States since the introduction of tariffs

Goods exports to the United States by commodity, percentage change compared with the monthly average for 2024, January 2025 to February 2026

Notes:

1. For presentational purposes, animal and vegetable oils and fats are not displayed on this chart. This is because of the low value of exports of this commodity, which results in a comparatively large percentage change when compared with the 2024 monthly average and would require a large scale to accommodate. The full data are available in the associated download file.

The increase in goods imports from the United States between November 2024 and March 2025 was because of a rise in imports of fuels, and machinery and transport equipment (Figure 3). The gradual decrease in imports between March and August 2025 was because of a fall in fuel imports linked to a reduction in imports of crude oil. The peak in imports from the United States in January 2026 was linked to an increase in imports of machinery and transport equipment because of a rise in aircraft imports, which can be volatile because of large one-off transactions.

Figure 3: Goods imports from the United States rose between January 2025 and March 2025 because of a rise in imports of fuels, and machinery and transport equipment

Goods imports from the United States by commodity, percentage change compared with the monthly average for 2024, January 2025 to February 2026

Notes:

1. For presentational purposes, animal and vegetable oils and fats are not displayed on this chart. This is because of the low value of exports of this commodity, which results in a comparatively large percentage change when compared with the 2024 monthly average and would require a large scale to accommodate. The full data are available in the associated download file.

Exports of machinery and transport equipment to the United States have fallen since the introduction of trade tariffs. The average monthly value for the exports of this commodity for the post-tariff period of April 2025 to February 2026 has fallen by £0.4 billion (14.7%) when compared with the monthly average for 2024. This fall was mainly because of a £0.3 billion (39.5%) fall in car exports.

A 25% tariff was applied to imports of cars and car parts to the United States in April 2025, which is likely to have affected UK exports of cars to the United States. The Economic Prosperity Deal (PDF, 139KB), which came into force at the end of June 2025, has reduced the tariff on the first 100,000 passenger vehicles exported per quarter to the United States to 10%. However, car exports have remained below pre-tariff levels each month despite this tariff reduction.

Overall, UK monthly car exports have fallen by £0.7 billion (24.4%) on average in the post-tariff period when compared with 2024, with car exports to our other main export partners also decreasing in this period (Figure 4). This fall in car exports is likely linked to lower production following a cyber incident, with the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders reporting a 24.5% fall in UK car exports in September 2025. Exports of cars to China and the United States saw large decreases of 78.3% and 47.2%, respectively in September 2025, likely as a result of the cyber incident.

The United States continues to be the main destination for cars exported from the UK.

Figure 4: Exports of cars to the United States have fallen since the introduction of tariffs, but the United States remains the main destination for UK car exports

Exports of cars, top five export destinations, current prices, non-seasonally adjusted, January 2024 to February 2026

Exports of chemicals to the United States have fallen since the introduction of trade tariffs. The average monthly value for the exports of this commodity for the post-tariff period of April 2025 to February 2026 has fallen by £0.2 billion (15.2%) when compared with the monthly average for 2024. This fall was mainly because of a £0.2 billion (16.2%) fall in exports of medicinal and pharmaceutical products (Figure 5).

The fall in exports of medicinal and pharmaceutical products to the United States may be linked to the United States government's easing of regulations to promote domestic pharmaceutical production as announced in an Executive Order on 5 May 2025.

Figure 5: Chemical exports to the United States have fallen since the introduction of tariffs, because of a fall in exports of medicinal and pharmaceutical products

Exports of chemicals, and medicinal and pharmaceutical products to the United States, current prices, non-seasonally adjusted, January 2024 to February 2026

Use our interactive map to get a better understanding of what goods the UK traded with the United States in 2025. You can explore the full data, which break down UK trade in goods with 236 countries by 122 commodities, using our interactive tools. Select a country by hovering over it or using the drop-down menu.

You can also explore the 2025 trade in goods data by commodity, such as car exports to the United States, or UK fuel imports.

Select a commodity from the drop-down menu or select the levels with your digit or cursor to explore the data.

Exports

Goods or services sold to other countries, the opposite of imports.

Imports

Purchases of foreign goods and services, the opposite of exports.

Precious metals and non-monetary gold

Precious metals include non-monetary gold, silver bullion, platinum bullion and palladium bullion. Non-monetary gold forms the majority of the commodity group "unspecified goods" and is the technical term for gold bullion not owned by central banks. Silver, platinum and palladium bullion form part of the "material manufactures" commodity group. This change is part of our Methods improvements for Blue Book and Pink Book 2025 article.

Trade balance

The trade balance is the difference between exports and imports or exports minus imports. When the value of exports is greater than the value of imports, the trade balance is in surplus. When the value of imports is greater than the value of exports, the trade balance is in deficit. The balance is sometimes referred to as "net exports".

Tariffs

Tariffs are taxes charged on the import of goods from foreign countries. They are now mainly used to protect domestic industries from foreign competition by increasing the price of imported goods to persuade consumers to purchase domestic products instead. Most tariffs are set as a percentage of the value of the goods in question and the importer pays the tariff.

A full Glossary of economic terms is available.

Trade statistics in this article are in value terms (current prices) and are not adjusted for inflation. We will continue to monitor trends in trade with the United States and include any analysis in our monthly UK trade statistical bulletins.

The trade in goods statistics in this article are published according to the Standard International Trade Classification (SITC). These statistics can be found in our UK trade: country-by-commodity imports dataset and UK trade: country-by-commodity exports dataset, last published on 16 April 2026.

Tariffs are applied to goods at the Harmonized System (HS) level, and HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) publish UK trade statistics according to the HS classification in their Overseas trade statistics. More detail on the quality and methods of the ONS UK trade data, including comparability to other producers of UK trade statistics, can be found in our UK trade quality and methods guide.

Data sources

Data from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) make up over 90% of trade in goods value and are the main source for this release. View our UK trade quality and methods guide for more detail.

Method

Trade is measured through both exports and imports of goods and services. Data are supplied by over 30 sources, including several administrative sources, with HMRC being the largest for trade in goods.

Our UK trade figures are produced using country of dispatch, which records imports as coming from the country dispatching the shipments. However, trade figures can also be produced using country of origin, as is used by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ). Users should be aware of the different accounting methods used and the resulting differences across trade figures.

For more information about our methods and how we compile these statistics, see our Trade in goods, country-by-commodity experimental data: 2011 to 2016 article. Users should note that the data published alongside this release are no longer in development. These data are our best estimate of these bilateral UK trade flows. Users should note that alternative estimates are available, in some cases, through the statistical agencies for bilateral countries or through central databases, such as UN Comtrade.

The interactive charts in Section 7: Interactive content for UK trade in goods with the United States denote country boundaries in accordance with statistical classifications set out within Appendix A4 of the Balance of Payments (BoP) Vademecum (PDF, 4.4MB) and do not represent the UK policy on disputed territories.