Customs duty from United Kingdom to United States: Import Duty Guide

Key Takeaways

• There’s no comprehensive US-UK free trade agreement - the 2025 Economic Prosperity Deal is a narrower, sector-specific arrangement.
• UK goods have landed near a consistent 10% baseline rate across several changes in the underlying US tariff mechanism since 2025, more stable than most other lanes.
• UK autos get a 100,000-unit annual quota at 10%, rising to 25% above that quota; steel and aluminium get a preferential 25% versus the 50% MFN rate most countries face.
• The US ran a $32.61 billion trade surplus with the UK in 2025 - one of the few major US trading partners where this is true.
• The UK ranked 10th among US import sources in 2025, at $64.78 billion - notably smaller than this site’s other tracked US lanes.

UK-US Trade at a Glance

The UK was the US’s 10th largest source of goods imports in 2025, at $64.78 billion - smaller than every other lane this site tracks for US imports. Notably, the US ran a $32.61 billion trade surplus with the UK (exports of $97.39 billion against those $64.78 billion in imports), one of very few major partners where the US sells more than it buys (US Census Bureau).

Is There a Trade Deal Between the UK and the US?

Not a comprehensive one. The US-UK Economic Prosperity Deal, announced in May 2025, set narrower, sector-specific terms rather than a full free trade agreement: a 100,000-unit annual quota for UK auto exports to the US at 10% (with a 25% rate above that quota), and duty elimination for aircraft engines and parts.

What Tariffs Apply Right Now (And Why That Keeps Changing)

This is one of the more stable lanes this site tracks, relatively speaking. UK goods have landed near a 10% rate across several successive legal mechanisms since 2025: the original Economic Prosperity Deal’s baseline, then the Section 122 balance-of-payments surcharge that briefly replaced IEEPA tariffs (February-July 2026), and now the Section 301 forced-labor tariff program that took effect 24 July 2026, where the UK sits in the lower 10% additive tier (Holland & Knight). Separately, Section 232 steel and aluminium tariffs apply to the UK at a preferential 25% under the deal’s quota arrangement, versus the 50% MFN rate most other countries face on those specific products - this mechanism is unaffected by the IEEPA-related court rulings, since Section 232 isn’t an IEEPA authority. Given the underlying legal basis for US tariffs generally has changed three times in eighteen months, treat 10% as a reasonably solid current estimate for general merchandise, but verify before relying on it for steel, aluminium, or automotive shipments specifically.

How Much Will You Pay Importing from the UK to the US?

For general merchandise, expect a rate in the neighborhood of 10%, one of the more consistent figures this site currently tracks across its US lanes. For autos, expect 10% up to the annual 100,000-unit quota, 25% above it. For steel and aluminium, expect 25% rather than the 50% MFN rate. US valuation uses FOB, there’s no VAT (only state sales tax at checkout), no de minimis exemption of any value, and a Merchandise Processing Fee of roughly $8.06 on a typical informal entry.

This site’s live calculator’s flat general-merchandise duty estimate is reasonably close to this lane’s actual current rate, making the UK-to-US calculator output somewhat more reliable than for more volatile lanes like China or Vietnam - though it still won’t reflect the auto-quota or steel/aluminium sectoral rates specifically.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a comprehensive US-UK free trade agreement?

No. The 2025 Economic Prosperity Deal covers specific sectors - autos (via a quota), aircraft parts, and steel/aluminium - rather than establishing general preferential treatment across all goods.

Why has the UK’s rate stayed more consistent than other lanes?

The roughly 10% figure has carried across three different underlying legal mechanisms (the original 2025 deal, Section 122, and now Section 301) somewhat more consistently than most other lanes this site tracks, though this isn’t guaranteed to remain the case.

Does the US sell more to the UK than it buys?

Yes - the US ran a $32.61 billion trade surplus with the UK in 2025, a notable exception among the US’s major trading partners, most of which run in the opposite direction.

How does the UK auto quota work?

UK automakers can export up to 100,000 vehicles per year to the US at the preferential 10% rate; exports beyond that annual quota face 25% instead - a volume-based tariff structure distinctive to this lane.