6th Report - The UK-US economic relationship: 250 years on

Key findings

• US tariffs have reached their highest levels since the 1940s; the UK's effective tariff rate stands at 8% as of May 2026, substantially higher than pre-April 2025 near-zero rates. UK goods exports to the US fell 11% in 2025 to £59 billion, with particular declines in tariff-exposed sectors.
• The Economic Prosperity Deal (signed May 2025) delivered sector-specific tariff relief in six areas but implementation has stalled on non-tariff barriers, digital trade, economic security, and crucially on the cornerstone commitment to agree steel and aluminium export quotas.
• The Technology Prosperity Deal (announced September 2025) was abandoned after three months in December 2025 due to US dissatisfaction with UK negotiating pace. Major US investors stated their investments were driven by market fundamentals, not the TPD, demonstrating diplomatic frameworks cannot substitute for competitive factor conditions.
• The Pharmaceutical Arrangement (December 2025, published April 2026) secures reduced tariffs but commits the UK to increased NHS spending on new medicines estimated at £1 billion over three years, with health economists raising concerns about lack of evidence-based requirements for company investment or improved patient access.
• The Committee found that UK-US agreements are being implemented outside conventional parliamentary scrutiny using non-binding frameworks and abbreviated secondary legislation procedures, with inadequate transparency and impact assessments. The beef and ethanol quotas breached convention with three-day SI laying periods instead of customary 21 days.

Recommendations

• Publish one consolidated, regularly updated 'business-facing' guidance source for the EPD, Technology Prosperity Deal, and Pharmaceutical Arrangement, distinguishing between tariff and customs requirements currently in force versus those under negotiation, and setting out exact compliance steps.
• Introduce mandatory human rights due diligence legislation and an import ban on goods produced with forced labour, building on the Modern Slavery Act 2015, in response to new US tariffs on forced labour enforcement.
• Report to the Committee on the outcome of the DBT responsible business conduct review in response to this Report.
• Honour commitments to present the EPD and recent UK-US agreements properly to the House for scrutiny, or explain in detail how parliamentary scrutiny will be assured for each agreement as implementation proceeds through secondary legislation.
• Publish impact assessments for the US agreements already concluded, including the Pharmaceutical Arrangement, without further delay, and ensure all future economic agreements with the US are accompanied by timely impact assessments.
• Continue negotiations with the US to: reduce baseline tariffs further; secure quota for steel exports; accelerate work on economic security, digital trade, and mutual recognition agreements; and convert opaque commitments into operational arrangements with published progress.
• Focus on fixing fundamental competitive factors—competitive energy costs, faster grid connections, expeditious planning processes, and simplified infrastructure building procedures—rather than pursuing further government-to-government technology deals at all cost.

Key actors

Liam Byrne (Chair, Business and Trade Committee), Department for Business and Trade, US Trade Representative (USTR), President Trump, Duncan Edwards OBE (British American Business), Russell Codling (Tata Steel UK), Audrey Yvernault (GSK), National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE)