UK and US Statistics Show "US Has Trade Surplus with UK"

To Gain an Advantage in Negotiations with the Trump Administration,
UK Emphasizes "US Runs a Trade Surplus with Britain" Using American Statistics

The UK government, conscious of the protectionism of the Donald Trump administration in the United States, has been emphasizing that the US is running a trade surplus with its country, according to reports. The data used as evidence is statistics released by the US, not the UK.

On the 3rd (local time), the Financial Times (FT) reported that the UK government is focusing on US statistics to secure a favorable position in negotiations with the US government. The US Department of Commerce's Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) stated that the US trade surplus with the UK was $14.5 billion (21 trillion KRW) in 2023, while the UK Office for National Statistics (ONS) recorded the UK’s trade surplus with the US as $89 billion (130 trillion KRW) in the same year.

The large discrepancy is due to trade in services. According to US statistics, the service sector trade surplus with the UK is $4.8 billion (7 trillion KRW), whereas UK statistics show a surplus of about ?70 billion (126 trillion KRW).

When considering goods trade alone, the gap narrows. US statistics show a goods trade surplus of $9.7 billion (14 trillion KRW), while UK statistics report a goods trade surplus with the US of $3 billion (4 trillion KRW).

Peter Mandelson, nominated as the next UK ambassador to the US, has stated that considering the trade balances between the two countries, the Trump administration should not impose general tariffs on the UK.

The reason for the difference in statistics is due to differing statistical compilation practices between the two countries. A major difference arises from whether the Channel Islands?Jersey, Guernsey, and the Isle of Man?are included in trade statistics. These three islands are not UK territories but are Crown dependencies owned by the British monarch and self-governing.

The US Bureau of Economic Analysis includes trade statistics from these three islands as part of the UK, whereas the UK Office for National Statistics does not. For example, Jersey hosts 35,000 financial companies managing assets worth ?450 billion (812 trillion KRW).