Andrew Thurston, customs duty & indirect tax consultant at MHA, explains the ins and outs of the new US tariff regime, including exemptions and place of origin rules
Without doubt, 2 April 2025 will be remembered for many months to come by businesses and governments around the world, with president Trump’s decisions having a massive impact on global trade.
Economists are already predicting these tariffs will increase consumer costs across the world and there is a high risk of a global recession.
The plan is simple – increase costs for importing overseas products to encourage the manufacture of products within the US, removing the reliance on overseas imports and making the country more self sufficient.
In his announcement, president Trump confirmed that immediate, reciprocal, tariffs would be imposed from 9 April 2025 with a default 10% rate, which affects all UK exports except cars. Although ‘full reciprocal’ tariffs were considered, it was determined that a discounted rate of up to 50% would be imposed.
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