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UK goods exports to the United States, excluding precious metals, fell by almost 25% in April 2025 following the introduction of tariffs and have remained relatively low since, official data has revealed.
The Office of National Statistics (ONS) said good exports fell by £1.5 billion compared to March, with the value of goods exports to the United States £0.8 billion (14.1%) lower in April 2025 than in April 2024.
Exports of cars have also fallen since the introduction of tariffs and have remained below pre-tariff levels since April 2025.
In March 2025, the value of goods exports to the US saw a large increase iby £0.8 billion (14.7%) to £6.2 billion, the highest level since May 2023. ONS said the rise was likely the result of UK exporters bringing forward trade, and importers in the United States stockpiling ahead of tariffs being imposed.
Goods imports from the US, excluding precious metals, have exceeded goods exports to the United States for three consecutive months since December 2025.
According to the ONS, UK exporters have consistently reported challenges associated with US tariffs. In late February 2026, 33% of businesses with 10 or more employees that had exported goods in the last 12 months reported they were affected by US tariffs in the last month, with 18.7% reporting experiencing additional costs.
There has been a slight increase in UK exports to other countries, since April 2025, with Hong Kong and Germany seeing the largest rises.
The proportion of UK goods exports going to Hong Kong between April 2025 and February 2026 rose by 0.8 percentage points compared with 2024, while the proportion of UK goods exports going to Germany in the same period increased by 0.6 percentage points compared with 2024.
Samuel Edwards, head of client portfolio management at global financial services firm Ebury, said:
“This data exposes the scale of the damage from US tariffs, in what effectively caused an overnight collapse in trade – wiping out around a quarter of UK goods exports to the US in a single month.
“The continued stagnation in UK-US trade despite the agreements aimed at easing some of the tariff burden, is also disappointing.
“While the tariffs have supported some re-routing of trade flows to markets such as Hong Kong and Germany, the US remains the UK’s largest export market – so this scale of downturn is likely to have consequences on overall UK growth.
“Exporters are facing a triple squeeze of higher trading costs from tariffs, raised employment costs and taxes, and input price pressures – all of which are eroding margins and making it harder to compete internationally.
“At the same time, the Iran conflict is adding fresh cost pressures through energy markets, while trading conditions are becoming increasingly volatile. For exporters, that means tighter margins, greater uncertainty, and a much tougher environment to operate in.
“Against this backdrop, exporters must remain as agile as possible – streamlining operations, reviewing hedging strategies to limit exposure to FX volatility, and ensuring access to flexible finance to strengthen resilience.”
