LONDON, March 28 (Xinhua) -- United Kingdom's (UK) total trade deficit for goods and services widened to 10.2 billion British pounds (13.19 billion U.S. dollars), or 1.4 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), in the final quarter of 2024, official data showed on Friday.

This marks an increase from a deficit of 6 billion pounds, or 0.8 percent of GDP, in the third quarter, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

"The UK's current account deficit with the rest of the world widened slightly in the latest quarter, driven by falling exports of goods," said ONS chief economist Grant Fitzner.

The goods trade deficit rose by 4.8 billion pounds from the previous quarter to 59.5 billion pounds, while the services surplus increased by 0.6 billion pounds to 49.3 billion pounds, the data showed.

The release of Britain's trade data comes shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday imposing a 25 percent tariff on auto imports, set to take effect on April 2. Earlier this month, the U.S. administration also announced a 25 percent tariff on steel and aluminum imports from all countries.

"With U.S. tariffs now a reality, the prospect of further measures, and retaliatory tariffs by some of our trading partners, the rest of 2025 could prove challenging for UK exporters in particular," said William Bain, head of trade policy at the British Chambers of Commerce.

In response to the U.S. tariff decisions, the British government stated that it is engaged in intensive negotiations with Washington in an effort to avoid "jumping into a trade war." (1 British pound = 1.29 U.S. dollars) Enditem

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