Farmers in the UK feel sidelined as carmakers benefit

UK farmers have found themselves playing unwilling hosts to a deal designed to rescue Britain’s car sector, as fleets of Minis, Aston Martins, and Range Rovers prepare to journey across the Atlantic on Monday under a freshly agreed US-UK trade pact.

While carmakers celebrate, the agricultural community complains they’ve been sacrificed to secure cheaper auto exports.

UK agriculture sector remains stuck at the negotiation table

Yet while the motor industry enjoys relief as the landmark trade deal takes effect, British farmers claim they have borne undue costs to clinch these auto gains. National Farmers’ Union president Tom Bradshaw criticised the government for repeatedly using agriculture as a bargaining chip, urging Labour leader Keir Starmer to shield the sector from further tariff swaps.

“Agriculture has nothing left to give,” he warned, after concessions included scrapping a 19% levy on US ethanol, jeopardising domestic biofuel plants, and agreeing to beef quotas already filled by prior commitments to Brazil.

“Agriculture has borne the responsibility of removing tariffs for other sectors. At some point they’ve got to stop relying on agriculture to take the burden.”

– Bradshaw

Under the deal, UK beef can enter the US duty-free, but only from January next year and within a 13,000-tonne quota that has already been claimed for 2025.

Meanwhile, although the pact promised zero tariffs on steel, ongoing rows over the origin of raw materials at Port Talbot have stalled full relief; a temporary reprieve lasts only until 9 July, with a lingering 25% duty on Welsh-made steel thereafter.

Tariffs cut from 25% to 10% at midnight

Following President Trump’s 25% levy on British-built cars from 3 April, added to an existing 2.5% duty, exports to America halted almost entirely, plunging May shipments to less than half their usual volume.

But one minute after midnight US time on Monday (5 am in the UK), duties on cars dropped to 10%, unleashing months of pent-up orders. Manufacturers now anticipate a swift surge in deliveries that were delayed over recent weeks.

Adrian Hallmark, chief executive of Aston Martin, admitted sales pauses between April and June were “not catastrophic, but slightly uncomfortable.” With US inventories slashed by half during the tariff cliff, he plans to “invoice three months’ worth of sales in a 24-hour period” once the new rate kicks in.

Hallmark told a British car industry conference last week that he was “planning to invoice three months’ worth of sales in a 24-hour period”, with stocks in the US down by 50% due to the pause.

Aston Martin exports 90% of its cars, but its customers are wealthy and willing to wait.

“The demand has been strong and will be in good shape when we start to invoice cars like fury on Monday next week.”

– Hallmark

Smaller luxury brands, like Lotus, have also been closely watched. Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds secured assurances that the Norfolk factory will stay open, averting threats to more than 1,300 jobs after talks with owner Geely.

Meanwhile, industry bodies warn that time is running out to finalize the metal talks. Gareth Stace of UK Steel said daily delays cost hundreds of jobs and imperil investment, begging negotiators for a quick resolution to lift crippling duties.

Even with a zero-tariff outcome, some plants, reliant on imported billets from India and the Netherlands while they retrofit greener smelting methods, may still face barriers unless specific carve-outs are secured.

For UK farmers, the picture is bleak: they’ve effectively subsidised lower car tariffs while their own exports remain restricted by filled quotas and offset concessions. As luxury SUVs set sail for America, Britain’s fields wonder when their turn will come, not as collateral damage, but as genuine beneficiaries of future trade deals.

Cryptopolitan Academy: Want to grow your money in 2025? Learn how to do it with DeFi in our upcoming webclass. Save Your Spot