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

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1. 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](https://inews.co.uk/topic/donald-trump?ico=in-line_link) that has got Barber more concerned than ever.

   Among those hit by the [global tariffs revealed by President Donald Trump](https://inews.co.uk/news/key-questions-trumps-tariffs-in-under-five-minutes-3621048?ico=in-line_link) 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](https://inews.co.uk/inews-lifestyle/brexit-forced-fall-love-british-cheese-again-2580043?ico=in-line_link).

   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](https://inews.co.uk/news/world/trump-tariff-updates-uk-calls-for-calm-as-leaders-brace-for-liberation-day-3620748?ico=in-line_link) 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.”

2. They really do have shit cheese to be fair. Even the ‘good’ stuff is terrible.

3. I was in a pub recently (don’t go often) here in the UK (Bristol to be precise) and I ordered a burger without really reading the ‘american cheese’ bit, honestly it was GROSS. They can keep their nasty cheese and we can all just double the amount of cheddar we eat to save the industry!

4. Their cheese is crap, their chicken has to be treated with chlorine to make it edible, their cars are gas-guzzling rustbuckets.

   Perhaps they could just try making better stuff rather than trying to protect shite with tariffs.

5. I really don’t think many food producers need to worry about US food imports

   The quality in the U.K. is generally much better. It’s definitely possible to get good stuff in the US but it’s all small scale and won’t generally be exported

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