What Trump’s new tariffs mean for you and the UK economy

Donald Trump has imposed new tariffs on 60 countries including the UK to replace the 10 per cent global levy that was set to expire on Friday.

The Supreme Court defeated previous attempts by the administration to impose aggressive trade policies in February, but Mr Trump was still able to introduce temporary tariffs for 150 days.

The fresh tariffs have been imposed over claims the countries have not done enough to enforce bans on items produced by forced labour.

This move from the US president could enable him to create a more durable framework of tariffs, imposed on the basis of a 1974 trade law.

His administration says the levies have been applied on these countries “for their failure to impose and effectively enforce a prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labour”. It claims this is based on investigations by the Office of the United States Trade Representative.

The UK exports more to the US than to any other single country. UK exports to the US were worth £66 billion in 2024, which was 17 per cent of all UK goods exports.

As before, the new tariff regime will impose a 10 per cent duty on goods imported from the UK to the US. This is paid for by the importer on the US side, but has a major knock-on effect on UK businesses as stateside demand drops.

But there will also be new product exemptions under the changes, which means they will work differently for some sectors than before.

Here’s what the new tariffs could mean for the UK:

How could this affect prices in the UK?

Crucially, the US has carved out exemptions for whisky and medical products under the new tariff scheme.

Whisky producers have welcomed the change, with tariffs majorly hitting their US sales. The Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) calculated last year the industry was losing approximately £4 million per week due to tariffs.

Ian Duddy, international director at the Scotch Whisky Association, said: “The return of tariff-free trade for Scotch whisky in the US is welcome news for businesses on both sides of the Atlantic.

“As Scotch whisky’s most valuable global market, worth £933 million in 2025, the removal of tariffs provides greater confidence to invest, grow exports, and support jobs and communities across Scotland and the US.”

The current 10 per cent tariff will also be removed from medical equipment. With UK medical device exports to the US totalling over £115 million annually, a 10 per cent tax added an estimated £12 million in supply chain costs. Medicines were already exempt in the earlier round of tariffs.

As a result, UK consumers may benefit from both of these sectors reducing the prices of products over time, or at least increasing them less slowly, as a key pressure on them is removed.

But in both of these cases, the brunt of the economic impact was actually felt by those in the US. Higher tariffs on imports generally mean higher business costs for US importers, and higher prices for US consumers on imported products.

The impact that the Trump administration hopes this will have is not to raise major funds, but to change consumer behaviour in the US by boosting demand for American-made products.

While this might not have an immediate, pronounced impact for UK households, the decision by president Trump to make his tariffs permanent means businesses will need to factor in the costs and losses that arise from this.

UK physical goods exports to the US fell by 10.3 per cent from 2024 to 2025, from £66.5bn to £59.7bn – a loss of £6.8bn. Last year also saw the UK’s £8.5 billion goods trade surplus with the US in 2024 flip into a £957 million goods trade deficit in 2025.

Responding to the latest US tariffs, a government spokesperson said: “There is no change to the tariff rate facing UK businesses as a result of this announcement.

“The UK remains on a 10 per cent tariff rate and the preferential access secured under our agreement with the United States remains in place.

“We take forced labour very seriously and ensure that in global supply chains UK businesses are not complicit in forced labour and human rights violations.

“The US has recognised the steps the UK is taking, which is why there are no additional tariffs for the UK under this announcement.”