A container ship at the port of Felixstwe, Felixstwe, UK, on Wednesday, April 9th, 2025.
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British goods exported to the US fell by £2 billion ($2.7 billion) in April.
The UK exporting nation’s value is the lowest at £4.1 billion since February 2022, with ONS saying the shift “is likely to be related to the implementation of tariffs on goods imported into the US.” According to ONS, vehicles, chemicals and metals exports all declined.
Imports into the UK into the US fell to £4.7 billion that month at £400 million, and Washington returned to its trade surplus in goods with the country for the first time since May 2024. Trade data shows rumors about the introduction of taxes as UK companies have significantly increased exports to the US since the start of 2025.
The main products sent from the UK to the US include automobiles, pharmaceuticals, mechanical generators, scientific equipment and aircraft. Meanwhile, the UK has a strong desire for US oil and its own medicines and aircraft.
The UK and the US announced a summary of the trade agreement at the beginning of May, but the contract still imposes a comprehensive 10% tariff on British goods sent within the state, and is not fully enforced yet. President Donald Trump’s universal 25% steel and aluminum are set to be reduced to zero in the UK, but up to 100,000 British cars a year will be hit at a rate of 10% rather than 25%, while higher tariffs are in effect while final details of the transaction are confirmed.
Trump has seen Britain relatively favorably during his second presidency while denounced other major trading partners, including the European Union. That is part of a friendly relationship with British Prime Minister Kiel Starmer, but primarily because of the historically relatively balanced British trade relations in commodities.
Overall, the UK’s trade deficit increased by £4.4 billion over the three months leading up to April, while the trade surplus of trade services between £500 million and £48.5 billion has increased.
This has led to a total trade deficit across both goods and services from £6.6 billion to £11.5 billion.
In its release, ONS noted that monthly trading data is “unstable” and that the next dataset could explain the total subsequent transaction agreement.
Figures issued by ONS on Thursday also showed that the UK economy, which was signed at 0.3% in April, fell below the expected 0.1% for economists voted by Reuters. The UK’s dominant services sector is a weakness, reducing its 0.4% and building output increased by 0.9%.
This follows signs of weakening the UK labour market at the beginning of the week, with employment vacancy dropping by 7.9% and employment rates rising from 4.5% to 4.6%. Wage growth was eased from 5.6% to 5.3%, and the market was then fully priced by the end of the year at another half-way point interest rate from the Bank of England.
Business sentiment remains dominated because of tariffs and macroeconomic uncertainty, and because of government policies such as raising minimum wages for employees, protecting new workers, and higher tax rates.
Sanjay Raja, British economist at Deutsche Bank, said the UK economy is “always on the conflict course for course revisions after a very strong start to the year.”
Growth reached 0.7% in the first quarter, accelerating from 0.1% growth in the final quarter of 2024.
“The headwinds in April could soften in the coming months, but they won’t completely dissipate. Despite the trade deal with the UK, trade uncertainty is here to stay. The labour market will continue to slack.
