David Bailey, Professor of Business Economics - Birmingham Business School
It was more bad news for UK auto earlier this year when Trump announced 25% tariffs on all car imports to the US. The UK auto industry was already being squeezed by falling sales in China, stagnant demand in Europe, and slow EV take-up.
It was nothing short of a perfect storm for the industry. And even after Trump’s dizzying U-turn on broader tariffs, the auto tariffs remained firmly in place.
Cars are the UK's number one goods export to the US, worth around £8.3bn a year. Firms like JLR, Rolls Royce, Bentley, Aston Martin, MINI, McLaren and Morgan are the firms most affected by US tariffs. There was going to be a particular impact on the West Midlands, which is the number one exporting region to the US. JLR paused shipping cars to the US as it digested the tariff shock.
Much of the UK auto industry was already operating well below capacity, and the tariffs were seen as a further hit. Production cuts and...
Already have an account?
Get to the end of the story
Subscribe today.
Cancel at any time
- More than 50 articles a week.
- Digital and print news.
- Global community.