New measures: US may impose 25% tariff on UK exports

The US representative said that it would impose a 25% tariff on British exports in response to the UK's tariff policy, which could increase the UK's tariffs by $325 million. The US move may be in retaliation for the UK's previous tax increase on US tech giants such as Amazon and Google.

According to the priority list reported by the Biden administration, the UK may face tariffs on a variety of goods, such as paints, perfumes, cosmetics, shampoos, clothing, shoes, ceramics, jewelry, furniture and game consoles. The US government will make a decision in the coming weeks, so the new tariffs will take effect in the summer.

Survey data shows that North America accounts for 20% to 25% of British luxury brands' exports , and 75% of British luxury brands identify the region as a key market for international growth. This trade dispute has had a huge destructive impact on the ability of British companies to export to the United States, but it has also harmed American customers and businesses.

This is especially true for the UK's ceramics industry, as in 2020, about £17 million of UK ceramics were exported to the US. If the tariff is implemented, it will have a heavy blow to the UK's ceramics industry. The ultimate victims of US retaliation will be US consumers, as these consumers will be deterred by huge import charges upon delivery.

The move comes amid growing calls from lobby groups in the UK's luxury and beauty industries for the government to ease trade tensions with the US over new technology taxes.

The UK government's position is that until a global fair tax system is in place that taxes companies based on a country's activities, they are forced to act unilaterally. They will also consider all options if retaliatory US tariffs are implemented.

As early as January this year , the U.S. Trade Representative stated that Austria , India , Italy , Spain , Turkey and the United Kingdom in particular "discriminated against U.S. digital companies, violated international tax principles, and imposed burdens on U.S. companies . Perhaps the United States is preparing retaliatory measures at this time.

However, many companies said that the taxes of the two countries would ultimately harm the companies of the two countries, and that such measures were not beneficial and they hoped that the situation could be eased.

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