Trumps Liberation Day tariffs carnage will hammer UK exports like cars and whisky worth £60billion and could cost tens of thousands of jobs

Goods exports to the United States worth more than £60billion to the UK economy are firmly in the sights of Donald Trumps Liberation Day tariff frenzy.

The US president is expected to include Britain in his protectionist attempt to protect UK manufacturers and make America wealthy again tonight.   

The tariffs - up to 20 per cent across the board - could knock up to 1 per cent off the size of the UK economy if there is a full-blown trade war with the UK retaliating to Trumps measures.

The sectors most at risk are the UK car industry and other manufacturing efforts, including medicines and pharmaceuticals, chemicals, power generators and scientific instruments. 

These five fields between them accounted for almost half of the value of UK goods exports to the United States, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Other key industries include food and drink, with Americans buying large amounts of commodities including Scottish whisky and smokes salmon. 

The imposition of tariffs will make British goods more expensive in the US, which is likely to reduce demand.

The Prime Minister has said he expects the UK will be hit and Chancellor Rachel Reeves warned Cabinet ministers there would be an economic impact from the tariffs. 

Find out which industries are likely to be worst affected in our graphic below. 

The US president is expected to include Britain in his protectionist attempt to protect UK manufacturers and make America wealthy again tonight.

Economists at the Office for Budget Responsibility have warned that the tariffs could eliminate Ms Reevess headroom against her day-to-day spending plans, requiring her to make more cuts or hike taxes to meet the rules she has set herself.

Tariffs on cars could threaten 25,000 jobs 

Donald Trumps 25 per cent tariffs on US car imports from Wednesday could put 25,000 UK jobs in the automotive manufacturing sector at risk, a think tank has warned.

The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) said the US Presidents levies on UK-made cars entering the United States - which could make Range Rovers almost $30,000 pricier when sold in the country - would put extreme pressure on Britains car makers and threaten jobs and economic growth.

With exports to America predicted to fall with Trumps reciprocal tariffs on friends and foes, the IPPR says employees at Jaguar Land Rover and the Cowley Mini factory will be among the most exposed.

With exports to America predicted to fall, the IPPR says employees at Jaguar Land Rover and the Cowley Mini factory (pictured) will be among the most exposed. 

Eight in ten motors produced in Britain are exported. And three quarters of the 603,565 cars built for overseas markets in 2024 were made for just three regions - one of these being the US.

While the EU accounted for 54 per cent of exports and China 6.6 per cent, some 16.9 per cent were destined for US ports.

It means some 102,000 cars - estimated to be worth £9billion - that came off British assembly lines ended up in the US last year. That accounts for one in eight (13 per cent) of all passenger cars made here in 2024.

Pranesh Narayanan, research fellow at IPPR, said: Trumps tariffs have huge potential to completely destabilise the UK car manufacturing industry, affecting tens of thousands of jobs and putting the governments growth plans at jeopardy.

Tax on UK medicine exports could limit US access to cures

Medical and pharmaceutical are the single largest group of UK exports to the United States and were worth £8.7billion in 2023.

Steve Bates, chief executive of the UK Bioindustry Association trade group,  this week cited a US study showing that almost  90 per cent of US biotech companies rely on imported components for at least half of their FDA-approved products.

He warned that this would make the supply of medicines for US patients and families especially vulnerable. 

Drugmakers are lobbying Trump to phase in the tariffs on imported pharmaceutical products in hopes of reducing the sting from the charges and to allow time to shift manufacturing.

Large firms have global manufacturing footprints, mainly in the US, Europe and Asia, and moving more production to the US is a major commitment of resources. 

Industry trade group PhRMA has said it can take 5 to 10 years and $2 billion to bring on a new production facility in the US in part because of regulatory requirements.

PhRMA used this point in meetings in February and March with the US administration to urge it to consider a staggered tariff rate increase over several years to reflect the time companies need.

Whisky tariffs could hammer Scottish economy

Scottish economic growth is forecast to slow amid concerns over US tariffs on whisky, with the US its largest export market by value.

The Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) said that Americans wanting a dram of something better than their domestic brands bought 132 million bottles worth £971m in 2024.

The Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) said that Americans wanting a dram of something better than their domestic brands bought 132 million bottles worth £971m in 2024.

A 25 per cent tariff imposed in October 2019 led to the industry losing hundreds of millions of pounds, before the levy was suspended for five years in 2021.

Last month Johnnie Walker maker Diageo has warned that a new round could deal a $200million (£161 million) blow to profits.

No chlorinated chicken, but cheaper US meat on UK shelves? 

The Government has been warned not to sacrifice British agriculture to seal a US trade deal amid growing concerns over biosecurity.

Farming and food sector leaders said they were very concerned about the concessions ministers could make while trying to secure an exemption from Donald Trumps tariffs.

Lord Rooker, former Food Standards Agency chairman; Tom Bradshaw, president of the National Farmers Union; and Rob Mutimer, National Pig Association chair, were among the sector leaders who spoke about biosecurity at a briefing on Tuesday.

The group called for the Government to step up disease prevention measures as Europe grapples with the threat of African swine fever and foot and mouth disease.

Critics say the process covers up poor hygiene processes elsewhere in the food chain that allows producers to keep prices low - undercutting UK producers - and is also not always effective.

It came after Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds told Times Radio that food standards were a red line in trade talks for the UK, suggesting the country would not accept US hormone-treated beef and chlorine-washed chicken – a major sticking point in previous negotiations.

However, the Government could compromise in other areas, like eliminating tariffs of up to 12 per cent on US beef, chicken, and pork, the Times reported.

This would give US producers – who have lower standards and a competitive advantage – greater access to the UK market, putting struggling British farmers under further pressure.