The UK and US have today committed to a joint de-escalation of the long-running Airbus-Boeing dispute, as the US announced suspension of retaliatory tariffs on a range of UK goods which include UK fashion and textiles such as cashmere jumpers.

The United States will temporarily suspend all retaliatory tariffs on direct exports from the UK to the US resulting from the Airbus dispute for four months, in an effort to reach a negotiated solution to the 16- year long dispute. This measure will come into force on Monday 8 March, backdated to today (March 4).

The list of products that attracted a 25% tariff included UK-made cashmere jumpers, anoraks, swimwear, and bed linen.

Adam Mansell, CEO of UKFT, said: “I am delighted that the US ‘airbus’ tariffs have been suspended for UK exporters. The tariffs have cost UK fashion businesses dearly over the past year at a time when trade was already extremely challenging. We have been working very closely with the Department of International Trade on this issue and we will continue to work with them to reach a permanent solution.”

Simon Cotton, Chief Executive of Johnstons of Elgin, the largest manufacturer cashmere knitwear in the UK, and a board member of UKFT, said: “We are delighted to see these additional Airbus / Boeing tariffs suspended and hope this will lead to a permanent removal of the tariffs in time for our main shipping season, later in the year.

“We have absorbed these tariffs for the last year, which has been a very significant cost to our business as a challenging time. This is extremely welcome news and gives us much greater confidence to pursue the growth opportunity which the US market continues to represent.”

Bill Leach, Global Sales Director at John Smedley, said: “We can breathe a huge sigh of relief that for at least the next four months, our US business is so much more viable than it was yesterday. We have absorbed these tariffs – almost treble what they would be normally – for more than a year, which is particularly hard given the challenges of the market in the UK and overseas. We hope that the two governments will make this a permanent solution.”

Note to editors

The additional 25% tariffs have been in place since late 2019. In 2020, the EU imposed retaliatory tariffs on exports from the USA. The UK Government decided not to renew these retaliatory tariffs after the end of the transition period.

The Department for International Trade said it will now continue to engage with the US to agree a fair settlement to the dispute, that removes punitive tariffs and works for the whole of the UK.

Cashmere producers in Ayrshire, in 2018 the UK exported to the US around £11m worth of the knitted and crocheted clothing that were targeted by the tariffs, of which around £6m are cashmere.

The UK Government said it reserves the right to re-impose tariffs at any point if satisfactory progress towards an agreeable settlement is not made.

For press enquiries, please contact tara.hounslea@ukft.org

John Smedley is pictured above.