President Trump has announced his plan to reduce the US trade deficit.
This is part of the America First Trade Policy announced on his first day as President.
The decision to impose additional 10% tariffs upon these products means UK goods entering the US will lead to higher prices for US consumers and provide uncertainty for UK exporters.
What next?
The UK Government has said that 鈥渁ll options are on the table鈥� in terms of any retaliatory action.
The EU has been discussing plans to retaliate with the member states. This may lead to disruption in price and availability of key inputs for our members (eg, animal feed).
In a statement, Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said: 鈥淲e will always act in the best interests of UK businesses and consumers. That鈥檚 why, throughout the last few weeks, the government has been fully focused on negotiating an economic deal with the United States that strengthens our existing fair and balanced trading relationship.
鈥淭he US is our closest ally, so our approach is to remain calm and committed to doing this deal, which we hope will mitigate the impact of what has been announced today.
鈥淲e have a range of tools at our disposal and we will not hesitate to act. We will continue to engage with UK businesses including on their assessment of the impact of any further steps we take.鈥�
Today the UK Government has launched a asking UK businesses to comment on options to shape the government鈥檚 response to US tariffs. The option to retaliate is being considered and we are being asked to input on the impact of any future UK tariffs applied to US goods.
皇家华人is working at pace with government ministers and officials in the Department for Business and Trade to ensure that UK agri-markets can act swiftly in response to potential disruption. We will also respond to the government鈥檚 request for input.