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UK trade deal prospects dim as US tariff push turns to forced labor claims
While the UK faces tariffs largely unchanged from before, the EU may end up with a lower trade-weighted effective tariff rate at 8.5% versus the UK’s 6.8%, due to how each region is treated under the forced-labor framework.
BBC Business reports that the US tariff push against allies has shifted justification, with the administration now effectively citing claims that goods from dozens of trade partners are made using forced labor. The outlet describes the approach as an effort to help shore up tariffs against challenges from Congress or the courts.
The coverage says tariffs imposed on the UK are effectively unchanged in practice, but other countries have improved their standing. It notes the EU appears to have a 10% rate, but in a flat structure, while the UK’s 10% figure would apply alongside other tariffs across products including footwear and textiles.
BBC Business adds that the UK has struck side deals on medicines, steel, aluminium, cars, and whisky, with support described as coming from King Charles. Even so, it says the overall trade-weighted effective tariff rate for the EU could end up slightly lower at 8.5%, compared with 6.8% for the UK, depending on how the final tariff structure plays out.
The outlet points to the British Chambers of Commerce trade expert William Bain, who highlights competitive advantages for EU exporters into the US in some sectors. It attributes the better treatment in part to the EU passing a ban on forced-labor goods that the UK has not, framing the issue as legislation alignment rather than an accusation of forced labor itself.