Some parts of the UK will be impacted by President Trump’s tariffs more than others, but which places are set to be the hardest hit?
A wide range of towns and cities around the country export different amounts of products to the US, from artisan cheese and beer to cars and machinery. Those that send more across the Atlantic are set to suffer harsher consequences from the tariffs.
Last week, a 10% “baseline” trade tariff came into effect, as well as a raft of global tariffs ranging from 11% to 50% on all imports from 60 countries he dubbed the “worst offenders” for what he considers unfair trade practices.
Using data from the Official National Statistics (ONS) on exports between 2016 and 2022, research by the Centre for Cities found that industrial cities and towns in the West Midlands – home of British car manufacturing – and Wales – a significant contributor to British steel – are likely to bear the brunt. This is due to the additional 25% tariff on steel and aluminium. Overall, 14.3% of exports in Wales are to the US and 15.4% in the West Midlands.
The West Midlands city of Coventry exports 22.1% of its products to the US – this is the highest of any UK area. Derby, Telford, Worthing and Blackpool follow, sending between 13.6% and 19.9% of their total exports to the country.
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Centre for Cities has highlighted 62 areas in the UK which trade the largest percentage of goods with the US. York, Edinburgh, and London – three cities more focused on knowledge-intensive service industries – are among those where goods shipped to the US represent the lowest share of total exports. York’s exports to the US sit at 2.7%, which means it is seven times less exposed to tariffs than Coventry.
Paul Swinney, director of policy and research at the Centre for Cities, said: “The direct impact of the new US trade tariffs on the UK is uneven. Places where manufacturing represents a higher share of the local economy are the places that depend the most on exporting goods, including the US. These include weaker local economies with the lowest share of jobs in high-paid services sectors.”
In the latest update, President Trump abruptly backed down on his tariffs on most nations for 90 days but raised his tax rate on Chinese imports to 125%. It was seemingly an attempt to narrow what had been an unprecedented trade war between the US and most of the world to one between the U.S. and China. You can follow our coverage of President Donald Trump’s tariffs on our live blog here.
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