Walpole, the trade association representing British luxury enterprises warned, tariffs imposed on products like tailoring, wool, cashmere and linen homeware by the US Trade Representative (USTR) effective September 1 will see retaliatory tariffs of 25 per cent. Washington import tax on certain high-end goods from Europa had previously risen to 25 per cent, hitting luxury enterprises in the UK and in EU harshly in return for subsidies charged for the Airbus fleet.

Walpole said the disproportionate effects that the US EU tariffs have on UK producers and the creation of an imbalance between different markets could lead to US retailers turning to Italian and Chinese cashmere producers to avoid the tariffs on Scottish cashmere. This would impact brands and companies negatively and lead to scaling down operations and export volumes in the US and potentially cut jobs.

UK’s Department of International Trade (DIT) has advised Walpole to urge Liz Truss, the Secretary of State for International Trade, to push for the removal of all tariffs and to reach a resolution to this situation with expediency.