UK trade with the United States: 2024

• 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.

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.

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.

Figure 1: The main commodity imported from and exported to the United States in 2024 was machinery and transport equipment

Trade in goods with the United States by commodity type, imports and exports

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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 (Figure 3).

In 2024, the UK imported £61.2 billion of services from the United States, which was an increase of £4.9 billion (8.7%) from 2023. Imports from the United States accounted for 19.5% of all service imports.

The UK exported £137.0 billion of services to the United States in 2024, which was an increase of £10.5 billion (8.3%) from 2023. Exports to the United States accounted for 27.0% of all service exports. The United States continued to be the UK's largest trading partner for both imports and exports of services in 2024.

Service imports

Other business services continued to be the main service type imported from the United States in 2024. The UK imported £30.5 billion in 2024, which was a £3.8 billion (14.2%) increase from 2023.

Imports of other business services accounted for almost half (49.9%) of all service imports from the United States (Figure 4). Other business services covers a wide range of services relating to businesses such as research and development, professional and management consulting and technical and trade-related services. Imports of this service type consisted mainly of £9.0 billion of services between affiliated enterprises and £6.8 billion of intragroup fees and cost recharge (Table 2). Services between affiliated enterprises covers payments between branches or subsidiaries and their parent enterprise, which often represent contributions to the general management and overhead expenses of branches.

Travel was the next-largest service import with £7.8 billion of travel services imports from the United States in 2024. This was an increase of £1.0 billion (14.6%) compared with 2023. Imports of travel services from the United States primarily consisted of £6.2 billion of other personal travel, which includes the expenditure of UK residents who visit the United States for holidays, recreational and cultural activities through their purchases made while in the country.

Other notable service imports from the United States in 2024 were £6.8 billion of financial services and £6.0 billion of intellectual property services.

Service exports

Other business services also continued to be the largest service export to the United States in 2024, making up almost half (44.7%) of all service exports to the United States. The UK exported £61.2 billion of other business services to the United States, which was a £3.4 billion (5.9%) increase from 2023.

Exports of other business services to the United States accounted for a third (33.4%) of the UK's total exports of this service type in 2024. Business and management consulting, and public relations services made up much of these exports, with £26.0 billion exported in 2024, almost half (42.4%) of all exports of this service type to the United States.

Financial services were the next-largest service export, with £28.4 billion of exports accounting for almost a third (28.0%) of the UK's total financial services exports in 2024. This was an increase of £2.7 billion (10.5%) compared with 2023. Financial services exports consisted primarily of £20.7 billion of explicitly charged and other financial services, which includes fees charged on financial products such as mortgages, investment management portfolios and credit card transactions.

Other notable service exports to the United States in 2024 were:

• £11.9 billion of insurance and pension services

• £11.5 billion of telecommunications, computer and information services

• £8.5 billion of travel services

More detailed estimates on the UK's trade in services with the United States can be found in our UK trade in services: service type by partner country dataset.

Figure 4: Other business services was the main service type imported from and exported to the United States in 2024

Trade in services with the United States by service type, imports and exports

Note:

1. Exports of manufacturing and construction services have been suppressed to protect confidentiality.

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Trade asymmetries are the differences between the published trade statistics of a given country and its partner countries' equivalent "mirror flows". In the case of the trading relationship between the UK and the United States, there are asymmetries with both countries reporting a trade in goods and services surplus with each other.

We at the Office for National Statistics (ONS) report a surplus of £77.9 billion in trade in goods and services with the United States in 2024, while the United States Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) report a surplus of $15.0 billion (approximately £11.8 billion when converted to British pounds using the 2024 average exchange rate from the Bank of England). There was a larger disparity between the ONS's and BEA's reporting of the trade in services balance than the trade in goods balance. The reported trade asymmetries in 2024 are similar to those seen in 2023. We will continue to monitor trade asymmetries with the United States.

The presence of trade asymmetries does not indicate that either country is inaccurate in their estimation. Differences can be caused by a range of conceptual and measurement variations between the estimation practices of different countries. The measurement of trade flows and relationships are complex. This means asymmetries are an inevitable consequence and can affect all data compilers.

More detail on trade asymmetries between the UK and United States can be found in our UK trade with the United States, 2023 article.

Use our interactive map to get a better understanding of what goods the UK traded with the United States in 2024. You can explore the full data, which break down UK trade in goods with 234 countries by 125 commodities, using our interactive tools. Select a country by hovering over it or using the drop-down menu.

You can also explore the 2024 trade in goods data by commodity, such as car exports to the United States, or UK fuel imports. Select a commodity from the drop-down menu or select the levels with your digit or cursor to explore the data.

Exports

Goods or services sold to other countries, the opposite of imports.

Imports

Purchases of foreign goods and services, the opposite of exports.

Precious metals and non-monetary gold

Precious metals include precious metals, silver, platinum and palladium, and it forms part of the commodity group "unspecified goods". Non-monetary gold comprises the majority of this group and is the technical term for gold bullion not owned by central banks.

Total trade

The value of total trade between two trading partners (that is, exports plus imports).

Trade balance

The trade balance is the difference between exports and imports or exports minus imports. When the value of exports is greater than the value of imports, the trade balance is in surplus. When the value of imports is greater than the value of exports, the trade balance is in deficit.

A full Glossary of economic terms is available.

Data within this article are in current prices, which means they have not been adjusted to remove the effects of inflation.

Statistics on trade in goods used in this article can be found in our UK trade: country-by-commodity imports dataset and UK trade: country-by-commodity exports dataset, last published on 11 April 2025. Statistics on trade in services used in this article can be found in our UK trade in services: service type by partner country dataset published alongside this article.

Data sources

Data from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) make up over 90% of trade in goods value and are the main source for this release. Data from the quarterly International Trade in Services (ITIS) Survey make up over 50% of trade in services data. View our UK Trade Quality and Methodology Information (QMI) for more detail.

Data from the International Passenger Survey (IPS) are the main source for travel services. The survey has now resumed following the suspension in 2020, with data for Northern Ireland not currently being recorded.

Method

Trade is measured through both exports and imports of goods and services. Data are supplied by over 30 sources, including several administrative sources, with HMRC being the largest for trade in goods.

Our UK trade figures are produced using country of dispatch, which records imports as coming from the country dispatching the shipments. However, trade figures can also be produced using country of origin, as is used by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ). Users should be aware of the different accounting methods used and the resulting differences across trade figures.

For more information about our methods and how we compile these statistics, see our Trade in goods, country-by-commodity experimental data: 2011 to 2016 article. Users should note that the data published alongside this release are no longer in development. These data are our best estimate of these bilateral UK trade flows. Users should note that alternative estimates are available, in some cases, through the statistical agencies for bilateral countries or through central databases, such as UN Comtrade.

The interactive charts in Section 7: Interactive content for UK trade in goods with the United States denote country boundaries in accordance with statistical classifications set out within Appendix 4 of the Balance of Payments (BoP) Vademecum (PDF, 2.5MB) and do not represent the UK policy on disputed territories.

View more detailed information about the methods used to produce UK trade statistics in our UK trade methodology.