‘US cheese is crap’: Why cheddar could avoid a Trump tariff meltdown ...Middle East

For almost 200 years Giles Barber’s family have produced the world famous English Cheddar amid the rolling hills of their Somerset farm.

Nestled in around fields that are packed with Glastonbury revellers each summer, Barber’s Maryland Farm is not only the oldest surviving cheddar maker, it is also the largest exporter to the US of any independent business in the UK.

But while the family has overcome two world wars, global depressions and pandemics, it is the current President of the United States that has got Barber more concerned than ever.

Among those hit by the global tariffs revealed by President Donald Trump during his “Liberation Day” address from the White House Rose Garden on Wednesday afternoon was a slap in the face for the UK cheese industry.

The sector is now facing a 10% charge to import its products to the US.

Last year, the UK exported £75m worth of cheese to the US and Barber believes that could fall by 50 per cent or more because of Trump’s tariffs.

His annual revenue from US sales is around £50m, but the tariffs could badly hit this figure.

Before Trump revealed the new tariffs to be placed on dozens of trading partners around the world, Barber had been expecting duties of 20 per cent plus on his cheddar and had factored in a reduction in sales of “anything from 50 per cent upwards”. There is, therefore, some sense of relief.

“Clearly 10% is potentially not as bad as it might have been so there is some sense of relief from that,” he said.

“Nevertheless, it’s a very significant extra cost that cannot be absorbed within our own supply chain and will inevitably necessitate price increases in the US market.”

Despite the gloom, Barber believes the quality of British cheese compared to that produced across the Atlantic will help the industry avoid the worst impacts of Trump’s trade war.

“Our product is significantly different from the US cheeses that are available,” he said. “We’re just 15 miles from the village of cheddar itself, there’s nearly 200 years of history of making cheddar in our business.

“The friendly bacteria that starts the cheese making process are all indigenous to the cheddar area here, and they provide a unique flavour to our cheese.

“I guess that’s different from anything you can buy in the US. I’m not suggesting that we’ll be completely immune, but history suggest that the US consumer has remained loyal in the face of higher tariffs to our product.”

The UK’s largest commercial exporter of cheese to the US is also concerned about the tariffs but shares Barber’s view that the poor quality of American cheese could help British producers avoid a business meltdown.

Stephen Jones, co-founder of Somerdale, said: “We have containers in transit on the ocean that will be arriving in the US this week and, in all likelihood, we will have to pay the tariff when we get there. That cost is going to be passed on to US consumers.”

Jones is, however, relying on one strength of British cheese that could mitigate the impact. At least in part.

“When it comes down to a five or six ounce piece of cheese, customers will probably swallow that. It won’t help it, but it will kill us? You will find a bit of consumption going, but Trump’s argument that Americans will buy American doesn’t really work with cheese.

“There are some nice American cheeses, but most of it’s pretty bland and horrible. People want a decent French brie, a nice Italian cheese and great UK cheese. American cheese is pretty crap. It’s tasteless.”

Small cheese producers stop hiring

But it’s not only the big UK cheese exporters that are concerned over Trump’s impact on their industry.

Jane Quicke, the chief executive of the Quicke’s, which farms land that has been in the family since 16th century.

The business exports between £150,000 and £300,000 of its traditional clothbound cheddar to the US each year, but Trump’s tariffs have its boss worried.

“I’m a bit worried, because it feels like we’re just now getting traction back in the US.

“It’s not just the tariffs. I worry about the US economy more generally with what’s going on there. They’ve been such a great customers for us because they’re curious and they’re willing to try new things.

“If I could talk to Donald Trump, I would say ‘you’re just making things way worse for the USA’, and ‘you’re strengthening ties between Europe and Asia’ as we all look to work more closely with markets other than the US.”

While the UK butter and cheese production industry employs around 8,000 in the UK, there are also fears that Trump’s tariffs could hit jobs in the sector.

Quicke is one of those considering how her business could be impacted. On top of National Insurance and wage increases, she is not the only one thinking tariffs could lead to fewer staff.

“We’re not currently playing lay-offs because there’s a natural turnover of staff in our business. That means, as people leave, we would just not hire new people, if we could help it.

“So, that is definitely on the horizon for us. We’re really scrutinising whether we really need these additional people.”

David Lockwood, an executive of the Specialist Cheese Association and chairman of Neal’s Yard Dairy, is also relieved at the level of Trump’s tariff on the UK, but still foresees a fall in sales.

“The difference between 2019, when we faced Trump tariffs back then is that we saw a 10 per cent rise in importing to the US and the impact was roughly a 10 per cent fall in sales,” he said.

“But last time the tariffs were not blanket across the globe and, this time, we’re in a different position.

“If we’re at 10 per cent and EU cheeses are at 20 per cent, under normal circumstances one would think we had a competitive advantage.

“I think the reality of it is that as all prices in the US are going to go up, people are going to have less money to spend on, say, imported cheese. So, I’m not sure how big an impact this will actually be this time around.”

During the President’s first term, he slapped tariffs on Europe in 2019 during a row over subsidies given to the French-based aircraft manufacturing giant Airbus, which he claimed put US rival Boeing at an unfair advantage.

“We’ve modelled the loss in sales this time round on the previous tariffs,” said Barker. “Back then the impact was bigger at the beginning and then demand began to come back.

“But, if the American consumer is going to be effectively paying this tariff on everything that’s going into the US, not just cheese, it may have a larger impact generally on American consumer ability to absorb those price increases.

“So, we would expect to see a bigger impact than last time.”

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