--- title: "UK Food and Drink Exports Slump to a Decade Low on US Tariffs and Brexit" description: "British food and drink export volumes fell 8.9% in the first quarter of 2026 to their lowest in a decade, industry data show, as a U.S. tariff hammered transatlantic sales — Scotch whisky and salmon among the hardest hit — and post-Brexit friction kept dragging on trade with the EU." category: "Economy" category_url: https://boursel.com/category/economy author: "Daniel Okonkwo" published: 2026-06-26T07:36:00.000Z updated: 2026-06-26T07:36:00.000Z canonical: https://boursel.com/article/uk-food-and-drink-exports-slump-to-a-decade-low-on-us-tariffs-and-brexit tags: ["uk", "trade", "tariffs", "brexit", "scotch-whisky"] --- # UK Food and Drink Exports Slump to a Decade Low on US Tariffs and Brexit British food and drink export volumes fell 8.9% in the first quarter of 2026 to their lowest in a decade, industry data show, as a U.S. tariff hammered transatlantic sales — Scotch whisky and salmon among the hardest hit — and post-Brexit friction kept dragging on trade with the EU. Two trade shocks — one new, one slow-burning — are squeezing one of Britain's signature export sectors at once. ## The numbers UK food and drink export volumes fell **8.9%** year-on-year in the first quarter of 2026, to their weakest first-quarter level in a decade outside the pandemic, according to the Food and Drink Federation's trade data [reported by The Grocer](https://www.thegrocer.co.uk/news/us-tariffs-bite-as-uk-food-and-drink-exports-sink-to-10-year-low/720600.article). Export values slipped 4.8% to about £5.7 billion. Imports rose, widening Britain's food-trade deficit. The FDF called it "a worrying sign of a downturn" and warned "a storm is brewing." ## The U.S. tariff shock The sharpest blow came from across the Atlantic. UK food and drink exports to the U.S. fell roughly **28%** by value in the quarter, the FDF said, the direct result of a 10% U.S. tariff imposed in 2025 on imports including British goods. The pain concentrated in marquee products: **Scotch whisky** exports to the U.S. fell about 15%, and Scottish **salmon** exports to the U.S. dropped more than 45%, per the FDF and the [Scotch Whisky Association](https://www.scotch-whisky.org.uk/newsroom/2025-export-figures/). The U.S. is the whisky industry's single most valuable market, so the levy hit where it hurt most. The U.S. tariff on Scotch was later removed, the SWA said — but after the quarter these figures cover, so the rebound won't show until later data. ## The slow drag of Brexit If tariffs are the acute shock, Brexit is the chronic one. UK food and drink export volumes to the EU — still the destination for around 60% of the total — are down by roughly a third since 2019, the FDF says, as post-Brexit export health certificates and customs paperwork added cost and complexity that didn't exist before 2021. EU volumes fell again in the latest quarter. A UK–EU agreement to align food-safety rules and cut border checks is under negotiation but isn't expected to take effect before 2027; the FDF estimates it could lift exports once in place. ## Why it matters Food and drink is one of Britain's largest manufacturing sectors, spanning thousands of businesses, so a sustained export slump feeds into growth, jobs and the trade balance. The episode is also a clean illustration of how trade barriers bite: a single tariff can knock a quarter off sales to a key market almost overnight, while structural friction grinds down a bigger market more slowly but more durably. The FDF is pressing the government for a zero-tariff U.S. deal and faster EU rule-alignment, and warns against unilaterally cutting tariffs on food imports — which would let in cheaper foreign goods without winning UK exporters reciprocal access. For now, Britain's exporters are caught between two trade walls, and the data show the toll. We're reporting the figures and the drivers; how policy responds will shape whether this is a trough or a trend. ## Sources - [US tariffs bite as UK food and drink exports sink to 10-year low](https://www.thegrocer.co.uk/news/us-tariffs-bite-as-uk-food-and-drink-exports-sink-to-10-year-low/720600.article) - [Scotch Whisky exports to the United States down since tariffs](https://www.scotch-whisky.org.uk/newsroom/2025-export-figures/)