Standard Motor Products Europe (SMP Europe), a UK family-owned manufacturer of advanced engine management, emissions, and fuelling components, with a proud legacy in the British automotive aftermarket, has expressed deep concern with the UK/USA Economic Prosperity Deal, saying it delivers very little for UK-based manufacturers and represents a missed opportunity to secure meaningful, balanced trade.

Ross Toomey, SMP Europe Managing Director said in a letter to the government: “While the deal has been described as a “historic breakthrough,” the automotive terms are deeply disappointing. The imposition of a 100,000 vehicle annual quota, subject to a 10% combined tariff on UK vehicle exports to the United States, marks a step backward from previous arrangements and sends the wrong signal to the international market.

“More critically, the treatment of automotive parts, the lifeblood of the aftermarket and a vital UK export, appears to penalise companies like ours. Under the terms of the deal, only components destined for UK-built vehicles benefit from tariff reductions. This fails to reflect the realities of our globally integrated industry. Standard Motor Products Europe, along with others supplies to a wide range of international vehicle platforms, many assembled outside the UK. In these cases, our parts will remain subject to a 25% tariff, undermining our competitiveness and encouraging global companies to source elsewhere.”

Toomey went on to add that the arrangement not only disregards the modern automotive supply chain but actively disadvantages UK parts manufacturers and suppliers, especially those like us with brands which have a decades-long presence in the US market.

“We strongly urge your government to re-examine and renegotiate the terms of this agreement with urgency, before more manufacturing capability, jobs, and investment are lost to overseas markets,” added Toomey.