IN WHAT COULD BE THE FIRST of many companies deciding to cut the US from their export plans, Jaguar Land Rover has paused shipments to the US in response to Trump’s 25 percent tariff on British cars.
It’s a big call because the US is a very important market for JLR’s luxury brands. A company spokesperson said, “As we work to address the new trading terms with our business partners, we are taking some short-term actions including a shipment pause in April as we develop our mid-to longer-term plans.”
Experts have suggested that JLR won’t be the only one.
The British car industry is facing plenty of challenges (when has it not been so?). Local car production dropped by 13.9 percent to 779,584 vehicles last year, and many of those were destined for the export market. Cars manufactured in Britain and exported include the Nissan Qashqai and Juke, BMW Mini and Toyota Corolla, in addition to Land Rover and Jaguar models.
In anticipation of the new tariffs, UK carmakers had already built stockpiles of new cars in the US. Exports to the US jumped 38.5 percent over December 2024, 12.4 percent in January and 34.6 percent in February.
The value of vehicles exported to the US was GBP8.3 billion ($A17.68 billion) in the 12 months to September. Cars make up a fairly small percentage of trade between Britain and the US. Britain exported GBP179.4 billion ($A382.1 billion) worth of goods and services to the US in the same period.