Trade dispute between US and UK suspended
24th June 2021
The US and UK have reached an agreement to temporarily suspend tariffs imposed on a range of products as a result of the Airbus-Boeing dispute.
A five-year suspension on higher rate tariffs has been agreed with the US, following a four-month temporary suspension which was in place from March 2021.
Higher rate tariffs – 25 per cent on the value of the product – were imposed on a range of products from October 2019, with pork and dairy being hardest hit in the agricultural sector.
According to analysis by AHDB’s David Swales, key products affected by the tariffs included:
- Whisky and other spirits where exports dropped by 26 per cent from £1.4 billion in 2019 to just over £1 billion last year.
- Over £32 million of pork, with higher welfare pork the focus. This fell 43 per cent to £19 million last year.
- Over £54 million of cheese, with the US market key for organic exports. This fell 20 per cent to £44 million last year
- Close to £7 million of butter, which fell 27 per cent to £5 million last year.
Both parties will be looking to reach a longer-term solution, Mr Swales said. Negotiations for a UK free trade deal with the US stopped earlier this year and there are no details on when they may resume.
The US is an important market for the UK, accounting for around a sixth of the UK’s total trade – more than 10 times as much as Australia, with whom a deal has already been struck.
