Welcome to the July BABN Policy and Trade Update.

June continued to see major developments to the transatlantic trade and investment environment, with the implementation of some of the provisions agreement in the US-UK Economic Prosperity Deal provisions, particularly the tariff reductions for the UK auto and aerospace sectors.  While there is still progress to be made, this implementation was a welcome announcement to UK exporters to the US. Three days later, the UK's New Trade Strategy was published, providing a framework for stronger trade policy and trade promotion alignment.

In addition, BAB published its latest annual Trade Guide for 2025/26, marked by a launch event held in New York, with the support of HM Trade Commissioner for North America, Oliver Christian. This year's Guide is a great resource for US companies exploring opportunities to export or expand their business into the UK. BAB also celebrated the 5^th Transatlantic Growth awards, which acknowledged US and UK businesses that had made significant transatlantic investments in 2024.

On the policy front, BAB has been actively engaged in advocacy against provisions within the One Big Beautiful Bill. BAB was pleased with the recent announcement to remove Section 899 from the document, providing a greater level of certainty for the investment corridor.

BAB also released its 2025 report on the transatlantic Life Sciences environment, further affirming the importance of the sector following the signing of the US-UK Economic Prosperity Deal and its prioritisation within the UK's recently published Modern Industrial Strategy.

See below for a breakdown of policy and trade headlines and our published works.

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2025/26 Trade Guide Release

26 June 2025

Overview: BritishAmerican Business (BAB) is pleased to announce the release of the 2025/26 edition of Finding Your Way: The Trade and Investment Guide to the UK, a vital resource for US companies exploring opportunities to export to or expand their business into the UK.

This updated edition offers US companies clear, practical guidance on every step of their journey into the UK market. It provides advice on all the issues that businesses must consider when expanding, from logistics and legal to finance, funding and taxation to talent acquisition and immigration.

The 2025/26 edition highlights why the UK remains a top destination for US businesses. The Guide compliments the ambitions set out in the UK Government’s Modern Industrial Strategy, showcasing the country’s strengths in innovation, high-growth industries, and the opportunities across its diverse regional economies.

Finding Your Way profiles the services and support available from both the UK and US governments, leading industry associations, and trusted networks.

Learn more: You can read our full guide here.



UK Industrial & Trade Strategies Released

23 & 26 June 2025

Modern Industrial Strategy: The UK Government released its long-anticipated Modern Industrial Strategy, outlining key priorities to drive productivity, competitiveness, and sustainable growth.

BAB's response: BAB welcomed the publication of the Modern Industrial Strategy and hopes it will deliver the comprehensive framework the transatlantic business community has advocated for. BAB was pleased to see a number of its priorities having been taken into account, including a significant reduction in energy costs for UK businesses; strengthened cross-departmental coordination; new statutory obligations for regulators to support the UK's growth agenda; and a Business Growth Service to streamlines business engagement.

Trade Strategy: The UK Government also released its new Trade Strategy, which aims to align trade policy and trade promotion with the growth ambitions identified in the UK's Industrial Strategy.

BAB's response: The emphasis on boosting Britain's serces exports is especially important for the transatlantic corridor. The US remains the UK's largest services export market, worth over £126 billion last year. BAB was also pleased to see a renewed commitment to progressing mutual recognition of professional qualifications.

BAB looks forward to working with government to support its implementation of these strategies in the coming months.



Updated on the BABs work on the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB)

26 June 2025

Overview: As part of its broader advocacy efforts, BAB sent a letter to the US Senate Finance Committee regarding the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) and Section 891. Following sustained engagement from stakeholders from BAB and partners, the Section 899 provision was removed from the bill.Section 899 was initially proposed to authorise retaliatory tax increases on entities from countries imposing discriminatory taxes on US companies, reflecting concerts over new international tax rules such as the OECD's Pillar 2 framework, which aims to establish a global 15% minimum corporate tax.

The removal of Section 899 marks a positive outcome for the transatlantic business community, reducing the risk of high retaliatory taxation and providing stability for the US-UK investment corridor. BAB is continuing to monitor further developments in the OBBB, particularly regarding Pillar 2.

Learn more: Read BAB's letter here. Please email Sophie (srahemanji@babinc.org) for further information. 

Moving the Needle: Advancing Investment in Life Sciences Report

June 2025

Overview: BAB's latest Insight Report, was released following a roundtable discussion, in partnership with the British Embassy in Washington D.C., titled Moving the Needle: Advancing Investment in Life Sciences. The meeting focused on investment benchmarks, regulatory alignment, and long-term competitiveness.

The discussion underscored that the US-UK Economic Prosperity Deal (EPD) represents an opportunity to strengthen manufacturing, med-tech, and pharmaceutical innovation across both nations. The insight report captures key insights from the roundtable and outlines priorities areas for action. The report captured the following sections:

1. Regional strengths and investment hubs
2. Innovation bottlenecks and market gaps
3. Tech transfer, commercialisation & innovation pipeline
4. Infrastructure, Ecosystem & Services
5. Geopolitics of Innovation
6. Long-term trade frameworks
7. National Security, Supply Chain Resilience & IP Protection

The report also highlighted short-, mid-, and long-term opportunities for collaboration.

More information: Click here to read the report.

Tariff Updates

30 June 2025

Summary: On Monday 30th June, the implementation of tariff reductions were announced, which included cutting auto tariffs from 27.5% to 10% (for up to 100,000 units), and the elimination of tariffs on aerospace goods such as engines and aircraft parts.

These changes are welcome and bring immediate relief to businesses operating in these sectors. However, tariffs on aluminium and steel products are yet to be removed and must remain a priority as negotiations continue. Additionally with the baseline 10% tariffs still being applied, many UK exporters are still worse off than prior to Liberation Day, underlying the need for further progress.

BAB Transatlantic Trade Awards

19 June 2025

Summary: On Thursday 19th June, BAB held its annual campaign that celebrates the outstanding achievements of businesses that drive trade and investment between the US and UK.

Now in its seventh year, the TAG campaign showcases stories of companies - from ambitious SMEs to established multinationals - that are building strong business links on both sides of the Atlantic.

Congratulations to our 2025 TAG Award winners:

🔹TAE Power Solutions - US SME Investment in the UK Award

🔹Clear Angle Studios - UK SME Investment in the US Award

🔹Entrust - US Midsize Investment in the UK Award

🔹Diaceutics PLC - UK Midsize Investment in the US Award

🔹Warner Bros. Discovery - US Large Corporate Investment in the UK Award

🔹AstraZeneca - UK Large Corporate Investment in the US  Award

BAB has tracked over 400 stories of transatlantic growth in 2024/25. Lead more about out 2025 TAG Nominieed in our TAG Tracker here.