UK trade with the United States: 2024 - A closer look at the goods and services the UK trades with the United States

26th April 2025

In 2024, the UK imported £57.1 billion of goods from the United States (9.7% of all goods imports) and exported £59.3 billion of goods (16.2% of all goods exports).

Machinery and transport equipment continued to be the main commodity traded with the United States in 2024, with £20.1 billion of imports and £29.1 billion of exports.

The United States was the UK's largest export partner for cars, with £9.0 billion making up 27.4% of total UK car exports.

In 2024, the UK imported £61.2 billion of services from the United States (19.5% of all services imports) and exported £137.0 billion of services (27.0% of all services exports).

Other business services continued to be the main service type traded with the United States, with £30.5 billion imported and £61.2 billion exported.

In 2024, the United States was the UK's largest import and export partner for services and was the UK's largest export partner and third-largest import partner for goods.

United States trade tariffs
President Donald Trump formally announced a range of tariffs on imports of goods to the United States on 2 April 2025, with imports from the UK subject to a blanket 10% tariff. These tariffs were applied on imports of all goods not subject to the previously announced 25% tariff on imports of steel and aluminium, and cars and car parts to the United States. There are no tariffs on imports of services.

In this article, we present the latest annual data on trade in goods and services with the United States. Trade statistics in this article are in value terms (current prices) and are not adjusted for inflation. This article covers data for 2024, so there will be no direct impact of tariffs on these data. We will continue to monitor trends in trade with the United States and include any analysis in our monthly UK trade statistical bulletins.

Tariffs explained
Tariffs are taxes charged on the import of goods from foreign countries. They are now mainly used to protect domestic industries from foreign competition by increasing the price of imported goods to persuade consumers to purchase domestic products instead.

Most tariffs are set as a percentage of the value of the goods in question and the importer pays the tariff. Tariffs are collected by the national customs authority of the country into which the goods are being brought (so tariffs on goods entering the UK will be paid to HM Revenue and Customs). Exporters do not pay the tariff as such, rather, they experience adverse effects from their product being made more expensive on the foreign market. This could mean that exporters may have to cut their prices to remain competitive.

UK trade in goods with the United States
In 2024, the UK imported £57.1 billion of goods from the United States in value terms, which was a £1.2 billion (2.0%) decrease from 2023. Imports from the United States accounted for 9.7% of all goods imports, making the United States the UK's third-largest import partner, behind Germany and China.

There were £59.3 billion of goods exports to the United States in value terms, which was a £2.3 billion (3.7%) decrease from 2023. Exports to the United States accounted for 16.2% of all goods exports, making them the UK's largest goods export partner.

The proportion of total goods imported from the United States has been stable since 2022, remaining unchanged at 9.7% of total imports. The proportion of total goods exported to the United States has increased gradually since 2022, indicating that the United States may be becoming a relatively more important export partner for the UK. Over this period, the proportion of UK goods being exported to the United States increased from 13.8% to 16.2%.

Goods imports
Machinery and transport equipment continued to be the main goods import from the United States in 2024 (Figure 1). The UK imported £20.1 billion of machinery and transport equipment from the United States in 2024, which was a £0.1 billion (0.6%) increase from 2023.

Imports from the United States accounted for 9.1% of all imports of machinery and transport equipment in 2024. Machinery and transport equipment includes various components, such as mechanical machinery, engines, aircraft and cars. The largest commodities imported of this category were £5.8 billion of mechanical power generators (intermediate) and £3.1 billion of aircraft (Table 1).

There were £15.3 billion of fuels imports from the United States in 2024, which was a £3.4 billion (18.3%) decrease from 2023. Fuel imports from the United States accounted for 21.9% of all fuel imports in 2024. This primarily included £8.7 billion of crude oil and £4.0 billion of refined oil.

The UK imported £8.0 billion of chemicals from the United States in 2024, which is a £0.1 billion (1.1%) increase from 2023. Chemical imports from the United States accounted for 11.9% of all chemical imports in 2024. Imports of medicinal and pharmaceutical products made up approximately half (£4.0 billion) of the UK's imports of chemicals from the United States. This includes medicines such as vitamins, antibiotics and vaccines as well as products such as bandages, wadding and gauze for use in medical, surgical or dental settings.

Goods exports
Machinery and transport equipment also continued to be the main goods export from the UK to the United States in 2024, making up almost half (49.1%) of all goods exports to the United States. The UK exported £29.1 billion of machinery and transport equipment to the United States, which was a £1.8 billion (6.7%) increase from 2023.

Exports of mechanical power generators (intermediate) accounted for £4.6 billion of the machinery and transport equipment exports and includes products such as turbines and power-generating machinery and their components, and internal combustion engines for motor vehicles.

Chemicals were the second-largest commodity exported, with £10.8 billion of chemical exports to the United States in 2024 accounting for almost a fifth (19.6%) of the UK's total chemical exports. This was a decrease of £3.2 billion (22.7%) from 2023. These chemical exports primarily included £6.6 billion of medicinal and pharmaceutical products, while there were £1.4 billion of organic chemicals exported.

More detailed estimates on the UK's trade in goods with the United States can be found in our UK trade: country-by-commodity imports and UK trade: country-by-commodity exports datasets.

Car and steel exports to the United States
Exports of cars and car parts
In March 2025, President Trump announced a 25% tariff on all cars and car parts imported to the United States. This tariff came into effect on 3 April 2025.

In 2024, the UK exported £9.0 billion worth of cars to the United States in value terms, accounting for 27.4% of total UK car exports. This made the United States the UK's number one export partner for cars, more than double the second-largest partner, China (Figure 2).

Alongside finished cars, the UK exported £0.6 billion of road vehicles other than cars (intermediate) in 2024. This includes car parts such as motor vehicle bodies, motor vehicle accessories, and motorcycle parts and accessories.

Exports of steel and aluminium
In February 2025, President Trump announced a 25% tariff on steel and aluminium imports to the United States. This tariff came into effect on 12 March 2025.

The UK exported £0.4 billion of iron and steel to the United States in 2024, accounting for 8.4% of total iron and steel exports. The United States is the fourth-largest export market for iron and steel, after Ireland, Belgium and the Netherlands.

Read the full ONS report HERE