The United States is one of the UK’s major trading partners, accounting for nearly a quarter of exports of chemicals and almost a third of crude oil imports
The United States is a key trading ally for the UK, responsible for nearly a quarter of chemical exports and almost a third of crude oil imports.
Here we take a look at the UK’s trade with the US, using data from the Office for National Statistics.
How much is exported and imported? In 2023, 15.3% of all goods exported from the UK were destined for the United States, according to the most recent data available. This makes the US the UK’s top export partner, followed by Germany (8.6%), the Netherlands (7.8%), Ireland (7.1%) and France (6.3%).
On the flip side, 10.0% of all goods imported to the UK in 2023 originated from the US. This places the US as the UK’s second largest import partner, trailing Germany (12.7%) but ahead of China (9.7%), the Netherlands (9.1%) and France (7.1%). In terms of figures, £60.4bn worth of goods were shipped from the UK to the US in 2023, while goods worth £57.9bn made the journey in the opposite direction.
What is exported? Of the £60.4bn worth of goods sent to the US in 2023, machinery and transport equipment took the lion’s share at £27.2bn, followed by chemicals (£14.2bn) and materials (£4.2bn). The top commodity exported by value was medicinal and pharmaceutical products, raking in £8.8bn of US exports, followed by cars (£6.4bn), mechanical power generators for intermediate sale (£5.2bn), organic chemicals (£2.8bn) and scientific instruments for sale as capital goods (£2.8bn).
What is imported Machinery and transport equipment also made up the largest chunk of goods imported to the UK from the US in 2023, at £19.9bn, followed by fuel (£18.7bn) and chemicals (£7.8bn). The number one commodity imported by value was crude oil, accounting for £8.5bn of total goods imports. Gas came in second place (£6.6bn), followed by intermediate mechanical power generators (£5.5bn), medicinal and pharmaceutical products (£3.8 billion) and refined oil (£3.4bn).
How dependent is the UK on the US? Nearly a quarter (23.6%) of all the UK’s exports of chemicals went to the US in 2023, with the figure even higher for organic chemicals (27.8%), and medicinal and pharmaceutical products (33.9%). Other commodities near the top of the list include animal oils and fats (25.8% of all exports), inorganic chemicals (21.6%), cars (18.4%) and aircraft (17.9%).
Overall, 17.1% of the UK’s machinery and transport equipment exports in 2023 went to the US, along with 15.9% of exports of beverages and tobacco, 5.2% of exports of food and live animals and 5.1% of exports of fuel. In stark contrast, nearly a third (31.9%) of all the UK’s crude oil imports in 2023 hailed from the US, with a similar figure for gas (31.2%). The report also revealed that 23.5% of all fuel imports in 2023 were sourced from the US.
Commodities where the UK leaned heavily on the US for at least a quarter of its imports included wood and cork (27.4% of all imports in 2023) and aircraft (26.5%). Further down the list, the UK relied on the US for 19.2% of its imports of ships and aircraft; 16.7% of its coal, coke and briquettes; 14.6% of its mechanical machinery; 11.2% of its chemicals; 9.2% of its machinery and transport equipment; 3.0% of its beverages and tobacco; and 1.8% of its food and animals.