Is the U.S. the UK's biggest export market?

Yes. Department for Business and Trade figures based on ONS data rank the U.S. first among UK export partners, with 21.7% of total UK exports in the four quarters to the end of Q1 2026. Most of that value is services; the largest goods exports are pharmaceuticals, cars and mechanical power generators.

Do UK products face U.S. tariffs in 2026?

Yes. As of October 2026, products of the United Kingdom entered since July 24, 2026 face a 10% Section 301 duty on top of the regular HTS rate, with exemptions for listed products and for goods subject to Section 232 tariffs. Our guide to shipping to the USA from the UK explains how to work out the duty for your product.

Do I need a U.S. company to sell in the U.S.?

Not usually. Many UK brands sell to U.S. buyers or on Amazon from their UK company, with the UK company or the U.S. buyer acting as importer of record. Rules for foreign importers of record are tightening: Executive Order 14411 directed new restrictions that are not yet in force as of October 2026, so check the current rules. A U.S. entity can make sense later for tax, contracts or banking, which is a question for your accountant or lawyer.

Are UK product approvals accepted in the U.S.?

Generally not as such. UK conformity marks and UK cosmetics or food registrations do not replace U.S. rules. Test reports can often be reused if they cover the U.S. standard, but the U.S. registration, certification and labeling steps still have to be done.

Which channel should a UK brand start with?

It depends on the product and margin. Amazon gives quick access to consumers, retail and distributors give volume but need margin for the trade, and direct-to-consumer sales give data and control. Many brands start with one channel and a small U.S. stock, then add a second.

UK Exports to the USA: Sectors, Rules, Channels

What the UK already sells to the U.S.

The U.S. is the UK's largest export market. According to the UK Department for Business and Trade's trade and investment factsheet for the United States, based on ONS data, UK exports to the U.S. were £203.3 billion in the four quarters to the end of Q1 2026, or 21.7% of all UK exports. Services make up most of that value.

Top five UK goods exports to the United States, four quarters to the end of Q1 2026
Goods (ONS commodity group)	UK exports to the U.S.	Share of UK goods exports to the U.S.
Medicinal and pharmaceutical products	£9.6 billion	16.9%
Cars	£6.4 billion	11.3%
Mechanical power generators (intermediate)	£5.7 billion	10.1%
Aircraft	£2.5 billion	4.5%
Scientific instruments (capital)	£2.5 billion	4.4%

Source: Department for Business and Trade factsheet, four quarters to the end of Q1 2026, ONS data. The same factsheet shows car exports down 40.5% and pharmaceutical exports down 18.5% on the previous four quarters, so even the largest sectors can shift quickly. The factsheet is updated regularly; check the latest edition before you quote these figures.

These headline sectors are dominated by large manufacturers. For a smaller UK brand, the more useful question is which consumer categories have room for a new product, what rules apply, and which channel reaches buyers at a margin that still works after freight and duty. U.S. duties on UK goods also changed in 2026: as of October 2026, products of the United Kingdom entered since July 24, 2026 face a 10% Section 301 duty on top of the regular rate, with exemptions (USTR notice, July 28, 2026). Our guide to shipping to the USA from the UK explains how duties are worked out.

Consumer sectors with room for UK brands

There is no official ranking of “opportunities” for small brands, so treat the list below as a starting point for your own research rather than market data. These are categories where UK origin, heritage or a specific product story is often part of what a U.S. buyer is paying for, and where small shipments and a market test are practical.

Packaged food and drink: tea, biscuits, confectionery, preserves, sauces, specialty and free-from products. Shelf-stable products are the easiest to test because they travel and store without cold chain.
Beauty and personal care: skincare, haircare, grooming and fragrance-led products, including clean and science-led brands. Regulatory work is moderate, but formulas and labels often need U.S. changes.
Apparel, knitwear and accessories: heritage, outdoor and premium fashion. Labeling rules are specific but manageable.
Home, giftware and design: homeware, ceramics, textiles, stationery and gifts, often sold through independent retailers and online.
Sports, cycling and outdoor equipment: specialist parts, accessories and clothing that sell through specialist retailers and online.
Consumer electronics accessories and audio: higher margins but stricter rules for anything with a radio or battery.
Toys and children's products: strong demand for design-led products, but the most demanding testing regime of the consumer categories here.

Alcohol, supplements, medical devices and pharmaceuticals can also be large U.S. opportunities, but they sit under separate licensing or approval regimes that are outside the scope of this guide.

Product rules by sector

U.S. rules are set by federal agencies, and some states add their own. UK or EU compliance is a useful base but does not replace any of the steps below. Check them before you print U.S. packaging or ship stock.

U.S. agencies and main requirements by product sector
Sector	U.S. agency	What to have in place
Food and drink	FDA	Food facility registration, Prior Notice for each shipment, an FSVP importer, U.S. labeling with Nutrition Facts and allergens
Cosmetics and personal care	FDA	MoCRA facility registration and product listing, a responsible person on the label, safety records, U.S. ingredient labeling
Apparel and household textiles	FTC	Labels with fiber content, country of origin and the maker's or dealer's name or RN number
Electronics and wireless products	FCC	Equipment authorization for devices that emit radio frequency energy, plus carrier rules for batteries
Children's products and toys	CPSC	Testing and a certificate of compliance with the applicable safety rules

Food and drink

Facilities that make, pack or hold food for the U.S. must register with FDA and renew every two years; the current renewal window runs to December 31, 2026. Each shipment needs Prior Notice, and labels must follow U.S. format, including Nutrition Facts, ingredients, major food allergens and net quantity in both U.S. customary and metric units. UK labels rarely work unchanged. See how to import food into the USA for the shipment steps.

Cosmetics and personal care

Under the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act (MoCRA), facilities that make or process cosmetics must register with FDA, and the responsible person named on the label must list each product and keep records that support its safety. Some products sold as cosmetics in the UK, such as sunscreens, are regulated as drugs in the U.S. Our guide to MoCRA compliance for international beauty brands covers the details.

Apparel and textiles

The FTC's textile and wool labeling rules require most clothing and household textiles to show fiber content by generic name and percentage, the country of origin, and the name of the maker or dealer or its registered identification (RN) number. Shoes and hats are excluded from the Textile Act, but hats and slippers that contain wool fall under the Wool Act rules.

Electronics

Products that emit radio frequency energy, from wireless speakers to smart devices, need FCC equipment authorization before they are marketed in the U.S. Products with lithium batteries also face shipping restrictions by air, which affects how you send samples and stock.

Children's products

Toys and other products for children are among the most regulated consumer goods in the U.S. CPSC rules require testing and a certificate of compliance, and many children's products must be tested by a CPSC-accepted laboratory. Budget for U.S. testing before you choose this category for a first test.

Sales channels: Amazon, retail, distributors and direct

U.S. sales channels for UK brands compared
Channel	What it gives you	What it needs
Amazon	Fast access to U.S. consumers and reviews	Units prepped and labeled before they reach Amazon, U.S. stock, advertising budget
Retail	Brand visibility and repeat orders	Margin for the retailer, vendor setup, routing and labeling compliance
Distributors and wholesalers	Reach across many stores and regions	Margin for each tier, clear terms on territory and exclusivity
Direct to consumer	Customer data, control and full margin	U.S. stock and fulfillment, marketing, returns handling

Amazon. Since January 1, 2026, Amazon no longer offers prep and item labeling services in the U.S., so units must arrive at fulfillment centers ready to sell. Our guide to Amazon FBA prep requirements in 2026 lists what that means for packaging and labels, and selling on Amazon USA without a U.S. company covers the account and importer side.

Retail and distributors. Retailers and distributors each take a margin, so a price that works on Amazon may not work on a shelf. Read how U.S. wholesale distribution works for foreign brands, how to sell to U.S. retail buyers and pricing for the U.S. market before you send a price list.

Direct to consumer. Shipping every order from the UK as a parcel means each parcel is entered through U.S. customs and pays any duty owed, because the duty-free de minimis exemption has been suspended for all countries since August 29, 2025. Most brands that sell direct ship in bulk to U.S. stock and fulfill orders from there, for example through ecommerce fulfillment in the U.S.

Testing demand with small shipments

Before you commit a container or sign a distributor, a small, structured test tells you whether U.S. buyers want your product, at what price and through which channel. A practical test has one region, a short list of buyers, one or two products, a fixed period and a written scorecard. Our guide to testing your product with 25 U.S. buyers sets out the method.

Diagram 1 A small U.S. market test for a UK brand

Before shipping Make it compliant U.S. labels, registrations and testing for one or two products
Courier, air or LCL Ship a small batch A few cartons or pallets to U.S. stock
Weeks 1 to 4 Sample and pitch Samples and offers to a short list of buyers
Weeks 4 to 12 Follow up Orders, objections and reorders on a scorecard
End of test Decide Scale, adjust the offer or stop

The first shipment can be small. Courier, air freight and LCL all work for a few cartons or pallets; how to ship your first 100 products to the USA without a container compares them. Keep part of the batch as samples in the U.S. so buyers get them in days rather than weeks; sending product samples to U.S. buyers explains how. Abanro can receive a test batch like this in California and ship samples and first orders from there.

Hypothetical example. A UK skincare brand with three best-selling products wants to know whether U.S. independent retailers will reorder.

It completes MoCRA registration and listing, adapts its labels for the U.S., and ships two pallets by LCL to a U.S. warehouse. It sends samples to a short list of spas and boutiques in one region, tracks responses and reorders over three months, and only then decides whether to approach a distributor. The money at risk is limited to two pallets, the label changes and the outreach time.

UK government support for U.S. exports

Export support team. The UK government's export support service points UK businesses to guidance on exporting to new markets, the paperwork needed to sell goods abroad and the rules in specific markets, and you can contact the export support team if your question is not answered there.
Trade statistics. The Department for Business and Trade publishes trade and investment factsheets for each partner country, updated regularly, which show what the UK exports and how it is changing.
UK Export Finance (UKEF). UK Export Finance helps UK exporters with insurance against non-payment, support for working capital loans to fill export orders, and better financing terms for buyers. Its regional export finance managers offer consultations at no charge, and you can also approach your bank or an approved export insurance broker.

Support programs and eligibility change, so check the current terms with each service before you plan around them.

How Abanro helps UK brands enter the U.S.

Abanro is a Door to Door logistics partner for international sellers, with a warehouse in Orange County, California, near the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. For a first U.S. test, we can collect a small shipment from your UK warehouse, ship it, handle U.S. customs clearance as part of the shipment, receive and inspect it, keep samples in stock through sample fulfillment, and send orders to Amazon, retailers or customers.

For food and beauty brands, Abanro also runs small U.S. market entry programs with buyers in Southern California: the Food & Beverage U.S. Market Entry program for shelf-stable food and the Beauty & Personal Care U.S. Market Entry program. Buyers decide whether to order, so a program is a structured test, not a guaranteed result. See U.S. market entry for how the pieces fit together.

Tell us what you make, which U.S. channel you have in mind and where your labels stand, and we will suggest a first step that fits.

Talk to us about U.S. market entry

This guide is general information, not legal or regulatory advice. Agency requirements, duty rates and support programs change, so confirm them for your product before you ship.

Sources and further reading

Trade and investment factsheet: United States (data for the four quarters to the end of Q1 2026), UK Department for Business and Trade, using ONS data
Trade and investment factsheets, UK Department for Business and Trade
Notice of actions in Section 301 investigations of various economies (91 FR 47318, July 28, 2026), Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, Federal Register
Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act of 2022 (MoCRA), U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Threading your way through the labeling requirements under the Textile and Wool Acts, U.S. Federal Trade Commission
FDA reminds food facilities of biennial registration renewal requirements, U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Get help with your export query, GOV.UK (export support team)
Export finance and insurance, GOV.UK (UK Export Finance)

Sources checked on October 20, 2026

U.S. market opportunities for UK exporters