Trade wars - how will it effect the UK?

The Canadians are hitting back hard.. Good for them.. A bully needs strong opposition

Let’s hope you’re right BlessedArt.

I genuinely don’t believe the US has any intentions on keeping these tariffs in place beyond strong-arming more favorable trade agreements. Companies will absolutely pass costs back onto consumers, thus raising the cost of goods/services for the American public at a rate that won’t keep up with inflation. The U.S economy wouldn’t survive a huge increase the cost of living very long anymore than the countries it is trying to bully. I give this whole tariff clown show a few weeks.

Well I d rather do trade with Europe than USA especially while they are led by a maniac I don’t think Canada will take it lying down

What I think about when I read about all this "stuff" that moves from country to country is the cost to the environment of extracting the metal, making the plastic etc etc to make it all.

We’re a bit player I think. Europe as a whole isn’t though, and needs to look closer to home for everything we can.

True. But would the US prefer we go to India....anyway, I hope it remains theoretical.

Wyllow3

I don't understand enough to assess overall, but looking at the references article Maisie quotes it seems like there is an awful lot of "swaps" like cars going in both directions and stuff we can source elsewhere - I mean, bandages?

Maybe because of the cotton content of bandages.

We should keep well back. Anyone keen to get closer may come to realise we'd not just be importing goods, but politics, too.

UK government needs to sit tight and play the long game. They are wise not to jump in.

I don't understand enough to assess overall, but looking at the references article Maisie quotes it seems like there is an awful lot of "swaps" like cars going in both directions and stuff we can source elsewhere - I mean, bandages?

It’s going to make a difference worldwide. I think the government here is wise not to get directly involved until it impacts on the UK, because the big battles currently are between the US and Canada and Mexico. If he does escalate the tariffs to Europe and the UK, we need to look at where else we can source materials. Hopefully we can increase our trade links with Canada in particular, as that would help both countries.

This is what we import from the US. If we imposed tariffs on them to match those imposed on goods the US imports from us I'm not sure how much our cost of living would be affected in the short term.

The UK imported £19.9 billion of machinery and transport equipment imports from the United States in 2023, comprising 9.2% of all imports of this commodity (Figure 1). Machinery and transport equipment includes various components, including mechanical machinery, engines, aircraft and cars. The largest commodities imported were £5.5 billion of mechanical power generators (intermediate) and £3.1 billion of aircraft (Table 1).

The UK imported £18.7 billion of fuels from the United States in 2023, comprising 23.5% of all imports of this commodity. This primarily included £8.5 billion of crude oil (unrefined petroleum which is then refined to produce useable products such as petrol or diesel), and £6.6 billion of natural gas.

There were £7.8 billion of chemical imports from the United States in 2023, accounting for 11.2% of all imports of this commodity. Imports of medicinal and pharmaceutical products made up approximately half (£3.8 billion) of the UK's imports of chemicals from the United States. This includes medicines such as vitamins, antibiotics and vaccines as well as products such as bandages, wadding and gauze for use in medical, surgical or dental settings.

Details of our exports to the US can be found on this page, too. Perhaps someone else might be able to detail the implications for the UK? I would think that US tariffs would increase costs to US consumers, leading to a drop in demand for UK goods and services.

www.ons.gov.uk/economy/nationalaccounts/balanceofpayments/articles/uktradewiththeunitedstates2023/2023

Tizliz

It will kill our business as 70% of our sales are to USA, very worrying

Oh - sorry - the Penny has just dropped tizliz.

That is unfortunate. Here’s hoping trump won’t touch the U.K.

Tizliz

It will kill our business as 70% of our sales are to USA, very worrying

Well not 70%

Actually between 15 - 20% but make a difference.

I assume that we won’t sit back and let him walk over us if he involves the U.K. in a tariff war.

It will kill our business as 70% of our sales are to USA, very worrying