Last night, United States President Donald Trump announced his intention to introduce a 10 per cent tariff on all UK imports, and 20 per cent on goods from Europe.
The decision has been described as the biggest change to global trade in 100 years.
The introduction of tariffs could be the latest blow to the global media and entertainment industry, which is still in the process of recovering from the Hollywood strikes of two years ago.
Analyst Alice Enders has been studying what she describes as a “paradigm shift” in United States policy since Trump took office in January. “It all has to do with the idea of closing the US current account deficit on goods; tariffs do not apply to services,” she tells TVBEurope.
The biggest impact of the tariffs will be on UK manufacturers who make products that are not available in the United States. So, for example, if NBC chose to buy cameras, microphones, switchers etc, from a UK or European technology vendor, those goods would be included in the tariffs.
“Let’s say NBC is looking at a camera that’s made here in the UK, and another that’s made in the EU. Now, all of a sudden, the UK has a 10 per cent advantage over the EU,” explains Enders. “Because of the nature of this sort of sliding scale of tariffs, there are opportunities that weren’t there before.”
In a statement in Parliament, the UK’s business and trade secretary Jonathan Reynolds said the government plans to consult with businesses on how retaliatory tariffs against the United States would impact them.
“To enable the UK to have every option open to us in future, I am today launching a request for input on the implications for British businesses of possible retaliatory action,” said Reynolds.
The government will seek the views of businesses until 1st May on products that could potentially be included in any tariff response.
The UK government has subsequently published a 417-page document listing US items that could be included in reciprocal tariffs. Media technology items include television cameras and microphones as well as “parts and accessories suitable for use solely or principally with sound reproducing and recording apparatus and with video equipment for recording and reproducing pictures and sound”.
