FACTORY owners could begin laying off workers within months unless prime minister Keir Starmer secures a trade agreement with US president Donald Trump, MPs have been told.
Make UK, an industry lobby group, told the business and trade select committee that tariffs on British exports were reducing demand for UK-manufactured goods.
The Telegraph reported that without a deal to lift the tariffs, manufacturers may be forced to reduce output and staff.
The UK is seeking an agreement with the US to remove Trump’s 10 per cent general tariff on goods and the 25 per cent tariff on steel and cars.
Stephen Phipson, chief executive of Make UK, told The Telegraph: “We don’t know from one day to the next whether Trump is going to carry on, whether he’s going to suspend [the tariffs], whether he’s going to change. It makes planning your business and your investments extremely challenging.”
He added that some manufacturers had put in short-term contingency plans and warned that job cuts could begin as early as this summer. “They will absolutely have to,” he said.
He noted that while larger firms may have two to three months of buffer time, smaller companies are already facing immediate impacts.
Carmakers have also raised concerns. Jaguar Land Rover paused US exports this month. Nissan’s senior vice-president Alan Johnson told MPs the UK was “too expensive” to sustain car manufacturing without policy changes.
Make UK said the sector supports 2.6 million jobs. Starmer’s recent call with Trump was described by Downing Street as “productive.” The prime minister has not ruled out reciprocal tariffs if no deal is reached.
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