US Tariffs Announced And The UK Is Not Spared From Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’

Tariffs have just been announced by President Donald Trump, and as expected the UK has not been spared from these taxes on goods imported into the USA. In what Trump has labelled ‘Liberation Day’ he has fired off a number of executive orders, with the UK being stung by a 10% tariff on goods into the United States (the EU has been hit by a 20% tariff), in what he says is a reciprocal retaliation.

I don’t think that there is anyone who sees these tariffs as anything less than harmful to the UK economy, but how bad an impact they will have on business trade and growth remains to be seen. It will also be interesting to see how the Westminster government will respond, they don’t want to get into an ugly trade war but they also don’t want to be seen to be taking these actions by Trump lying down and letting him trample all over them.

Tariffs Have Historically Never Been Too Successful

Trump has announced these measures of high tariffs because he says that other countries have been doing this to US exports for far too long without any reciprocal action, and he also believes that it will protect US industry from international competition, thus creating jobs and wealth. However, looking back over the history of tariffs, they have never seemed to be too successful when they have been imposed and it is likely that US consumers will suffer more than most, with higher prices to pay for their goods and services.

For the record, Northern Ireland sold goods to the tune of around £1.3 billion into the United States in 2023, a high proportion of this being either pharmaceuticals or industrial machinery. Tariffs on goods from Northern Ireland going into the US will, it is predicted, cost the economy here anything between £100 million to £300 million.

The tariffs imposed by Trump could also blow Chancellor Rachel Reeves economic plans out of the water, and kill any potential growth that has been predicted. Make no mistake this is not good news for any of the protagonists involved. The best scenario for Northern Ireland is that sales into the US decline, but not at a particularly high rate as to effect the overall economy, and after a few months Donald Trump sees the error of his ways and drops them. This may be wishful thinking but it is a scenario that is not entirely fanciful. We shall wait and see.