Rebecca Evans MS, Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning
On 2 April 2025, President Trump announced a series of ‘reciprocal’ tariffs on all countries. For the UK, this means that a 10% tariff will now apply on imports into the US from 5 April 2025. This is the minimum baseline tariff that has been set and will be in addition to the 25% tariff on steel and aluminium (announced 10 February 2025) and on automotives and automotive parts (announced 26 March 2025). There are a limited number of products that will initially be exempt from these tariffs, such as pharmaceutical products and semiconductors.
The US is Wales’ second largest goods export partner, accounting for 13.5% of our total goods exports. Latest data shows that the value of Welsh goods trade with the US was £6.4bn in 2024 - with imports and exports worth £4.2bn and £2.2bn respectively. Of the 3,188 Welsh businesses that exported goods worldwide in 2024, around a third (33.4%) of them exported to the United States.
The Welsh Government continues to nurture close trade links and economic opportunities with the United States. We currently have international offices in New York, Washington DC, Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles.
Last month the Minister for Culture, Skills and Social Partnership led a delegation of Welsh creative companies to the 2025 Games Development Conference in San Francisco and we also announced plans from the US semiconductor design software leader Cadence Design Systems, Inc. to open a new design centre in Cardiff, creating more than 100 highly skilled jobs. We are determined this close working relationship between Wales and the US will continue to prosper.
Whilst it is a small relief to see that the tariffs that will be applied to imports from the UK are lower than some other trading countries and blocs, such as the EU, I remain deeply concerned about the impact that they will have on our businesses in Wales. A 10% tariff represents a significant rise for most products and, whilst some of our key exporters may be able to benefit from exemptions, the impact of these tariffs will be far-reaching and affect almost all of our businesses that export to the US.
I understand that, although the UK government has launched a request for input on the implications for British businesses of possible retaliatory tariffs, it currently does not plan on retaliating to these new tariffs and is actively seeking a deal with the US that could lead to their reduction. We are hopeful that this could be achieved in the near future, and I remain supportive of the approach being taken by the UK government.
In preparation for this announcement, I have been engaging with the trade unions the UK government and representatives of business and industry in Wales. We remain in close contact with the UK government as the situation develops and the potential impact of these tariffs becomes clearer. In the meantime, we will continue to support those Welsh exporters who are impacted through our business support programmes.
I commit to updating Members as the full scale of the potential impact of the new tariffs becomes clearer.