- Research has ranked cities by their exposure to the US trade levies
Trump’s tariffs are set to have wide ranging effects across the world, as major exporters to the US were slapped with sky-high tariffs last week.
While tariffs above 10 per cent have been paused for 90 days, the UK was given a 10 per cent tariff to start with so remains in the same situation.
The British cities expected to take the hardest hit from Trump’s levies are manufacturing heartlands, as areas whose local economies are based around industry being much more dependent on exports to the US.
The West Midlands city of Coventry is likely to be the worst to suffer, according to data from the Centre for Cities think tank, as a result of its position as the epicentre of the UK’s car manufacturing industry.
On top of the 10 per cent tariff placed on British goods exported to the US, the UK is also facing a 25 per cent charge on British cars and materials used to manufacture cars.
Coventry is home to Jaguar Land Rover’s headquarters, with thousands working at the site. The city was the location of the first British car to be manufactured in 1897.
Set to suffer? Coventry, home of Jaguar Land Rover, could be the hit hard by Trump’s tariffs
Jaguar Land Rover said last week that it was ‘enacting short-term actions including a shipment pause in April’.
It added: ‘Our luxury brands have global appeal and our business is resilient, accustomed to changing market conditions. Our priorities now are delivering for our clients around the world and addressing these new US trading terms.’
The city has the highest exposure to US goods exports, with 22.1 per cent of its exports headed towards the US.
In comparison, the least affected of Britain’s 62 largest cities, York, has exposure of just 2.7 per cent.
Edinburgh and London also come out as winners, with the two capital cities exposed by just 2.9 per cent and 3.2 per cent respectively.
This is largely as a result of their focus on services rather than goods.
Paul Swinney, director of policy and research at the Centre for Cities, said: ‘The direct impact of the new US trade tariffs on the UK is uneven.
‘Places where manufacturing represents a higher share of the local economy are the places that depend the most on exporting goods, including to the US.
‘These include weaker local economies with the lowest share of jobs in high-paid services sectors.’
Behind Coventry, Derby is set to be the next most affected according to the research, with 19.9 per cent exposure to the tariffs.
The city is known for manufacturing for the aerospace, automotive and train production sectors, and is home to jet engine maker Rolls-Royce.
Meanwhile, Telford, a manufacturing hub for the automotive and defence sectors, was third worst hit.
The Shropshire city has US exposure of 17.3 per cent of its total exports.
Worthing, Blackpool, Hull, Plymouth and Birmingham also found themselves among the most affected cities.
The Centre for Cities warned that local economies that are struggling, such as those that are less productive, are likely to fare even worse under the new tariffs.
Trump on Wednesday announced that the latest raft of additional tariffs will be paused for 90 days, just hours after they came into effect.
A 10 per cent blanket levy will remain in place on a universal basis, meaning the UK will still be affected, while the tariff on Chinese goods has been upped to 125 per cent as a trade war escalates between the two nations.
