Logistics UK: Tariffs increase costs, complicate supply chains and risk holding back trade

Commenting on the new wave of tariffs announced by the US administration, business group Logistics UK’s Chief Executive Ben Fletcher said:

“UK goods exports to the US were worth around £60 billion in 2025, making stable and competitive access to the market essential for businesses and the supply chains that support them. Most exporters will welcome the fact that the headline tariff has not increased, although the continued 10% tariff still represents a significant cost of trading.

“Tariffs increase costs, complicate supply chains and risk holding back trade, investment and economic growth on both sides of the Atlantic. Therefore, continued UK-US engagement will be vital, because increased trade-led growth comes from fixing the frictions that hold businesses back, not maintaining them.”

Logistics UK is one of the UK’s biggest business groups, representing logistics businesses which are vital to keeping the UK trading, and more than seven million people directly employed in the making, selling and moving of goods. With decarbonisation, new technology and other disruptive forces driving change in the way goods move across borders and through the supply chain, logistics has never been more important to UK plc. Logistics UK supports, shapes and stands up for safe and efficient logistics, and is the only business group which represents the whole industry, with members from the road, rail, water and air industries, as well as the buyers of freight services such as retailers and manufacturers whose businesses depend on the efficient movement of goods.