Donald Trump has hit UK businesses with 25% tariffs on 400 new categories of goods containing steel or aluminium. The White House snuck in an expanded range of goods that now face punishing import tariffs.
This includes washing machines, motorbikes, tableware and products packaged using aluminium such as shampoo and condensed milk. The United States has imposed 10% tariffs on most goods from the UK, although steel and aluminium entering the US from Britain now faces a 25% import tax.
The US Department of Commerce quietly announced the shock move, which UK manufacturers have warned could be “very damaging” to British industry.
Nick Bloor, chief executive of Triumph Motorcycles, told The Times that the announcement came as a surprise, particularly after the UK and US recently struck a trade agreement.
In May, London and Washnington agreed a trade deal which would see a 25% tariff on UK steel and aluminium exports down to zero. But UK exports stayed at 25% after the Trump administration raised other countries’ tariffs to 50%.
JCB chief executive, Graeme Macdonald, will reportedly meet Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds on Tuesday.
Mr Macdonald said the UK and US need to get a deal done quickly as the latest tariffs announcement by the US is “very damaging to British industry”.
He said: “This has blindsided everybody. It’s blindsided us, it’s blindsided the UK Government, it’s definitely blindsided US customs.”
Meanwhile, Mr Trump on his Truth Social platform trumpeted a new Congressional Budget Office update on the impact tariffs are expected to have on reducing the United States’ budget deficit.
The CBO on Friday issued a new blog post that states tariffs will lower deficits by a combined £2.96trillion ($4tn) over the next decade. The latest update is an increase from its last projection in June which predicted deficits would be reduced by £2tn ($2.8tn) over 10 years.
Mr Trump said the CBO, which he called “Radical Left Representatives” had “admitted how incredible” his “Tariff strategy has been”.
He also said his administration would complete a “major tariff investigation” into furniture imported into the US, with a report on its findings to be issued within the next 50 days.
Mr Trump said furniture coming from other countries into the US would be tariffed at a rate yet to be determined. He said his aim is to bring the furniture business back to North Carolina, South Carolina and Michigan, among other states.
