On April 8, 2025, President Trump made a dramatic move in the trade war with China, raising import duty by a huge 50%. This brings the total tariff on Chinese-imported goods to 104%. For US-based Amazon sellers who rely heavily on Chinese manufacturing, this has been a major hit to business, with no grace period to ease the change or transition. As a result, selling on Amazon UK to avoid tariffs is a great way to expand your market reach while increasing margins.
To give an example of the impact of the tarrifs, a product that previously cost $10 to import could now cost $20, or more. This has left a lot of Amazon sellers scrambling for a quick solution. Some sellers have been looking into alternative suppliers, particularly from countries like Vietnam, Mexico, and India. While others have had to raise their prices, knowing full well that price hikes are not sustainable in the long-term as customers start to shop elsewhere or go without.
Those with bigger margins may be able to absorb some of the cost themselves. However, categories like clothing and home goods, where there is little flexibility due to thin margins, will be especially vulnerable to tariff increases.
With Prime Day coming up soon, many sellers are also limiting their deals or deciding to pull out from the day’s special promotions altogether. It is clear that the implications are severe for US sellers, and businesses are acting cautiously. But selling internationally could be a way to beat the tariffs, particularly if you enter the UK market.
Selling on Amazon’s global marketplaces can diversify and strengthen your cash flow. In the current climate, selling internationally could be especially beneficial as businesses search for ways to avoid Trump’s tariffs.
With Amazon’s global brand, you can sell over 21 stores in 180 countries worldwide. This means you can quickly accelerate sales, while growing and diversifying your markets. Not only can selling overseas reduce the impact of fluctuating sales periods and seasonality within your own country, but you’ll be able to streamline global operations through Amazon.
It is particularly advantageous to expand Amazon sales to the UK right now, due to its established online shopping culture. The e-commerce market in Europe is predicted to reach $900 billion by 2028. This creates a huge opportunity for US-based sellers who want to mitigate risks tied to market uncertainties.
Selling in the UK and Europe is also relatively easy with Amazon. After completing requirements for tax, compliance and safety, you’ll be able to manage and automate your business with Amazon’s tools and programmes.
Before you expand your Amazon business to the UK, you must first decide how you want to register and manage your business. You can either register as a new business in the UK, or you could continue using your existing LLC if you find it more feasible. The first option would mean running your business separately from your US business, giving you a way to avoid Trump’s tariffs for Chinese-manufactured goods.
Keeping your US and UK operations separate could also be advantageous as each one is protected should something happen with the other, as they are not linked. However, there are advantages to both LLC and new business registration in the UK. If you are unsure, it may be best to seek professional advice.
Here are the steps to setting up an Amazon UK seller account:
Go to Amazon.co.uk to create your account. If you have a professional seller account in the US, you’ll be able to link both accounts later. This will make it easy to manage sales from one place in Seller Central.
As part of the registration process, you’ll need paperwork to help prove your identity. This could be things like your driver’s license, bank statements, and documents that prove your address, as well as any business registration details.
To protect your account, you will be asked to set up two-step registration. This means having a unique code sent to your phone via SMS or voice message, and this will be required to complete the setup of your account.
Not only will your listings be available in the UK, but with Amazon unified accounts, you’ll also be able to sell throughout Europe. This gives you access to Amazon’s French, Spanish, and Italian marketplaces – and it will be extremely simple to manage and promote sales across different EU locations.
As with any Amazon account, you’ll want to track and measure success. The UK market will perform differently compared to the US so review customer metrics and make the most of the platform’s wide range of tools to improve sales.
When uploading products on Amazon.co.uk, be sure to use the exact same ASINs for listings. By selling your product under the same ASIN, product information will get copied across when you upload, meaning there’s less work for you to do.
Any reviews will also be copied over, which can be extremely beneficial when you launch in the UK. Reviews are essential for building trust and authority in the marketplace. Not only will more reviews increase click-throughs, but customers are more likely to trust your product over a competitor’s.
Reviews contribute positively towards rankings, too, so your listings will get seen when shoppers conduct a product search.
However, whenever uploading with the same ASINs, be sure to review everything carefully before you publish the listing. Despite being able to automatically transfer existing product information, it’s still necessary to customise your listing for the UK market. Here are some things you’ll need to do:
If you sell products in the UK, you will be required to pay VAT (Value Added Tax). This is a consumption tax that is levied on the value added at each stage of a product’s production and distribution, and it is applicable to most goods and services.
VAT is similar to sales tax, except:
The standard rate of VAT is 20%, with a reduced or zero VAT rate for certain products (including some health products, food, children’s books and clothes, and children’s car seats).
As an Amazon seller, you will be fully responsible for VAT compliance. So you will need to register for a VAT number in the UK, as well as any other EU countries where you plan to sell.
Amazon offers VAT services, which can help you manage your VAT compliance easily. Through these services, all VAT-related tasks will be handled on your behalf, saving you time. There’s also a dedicated support team on hand to help you should you run into any issues.
Once you have decided to sell overseas, it’s important to check the taxes and regulations linked to each market. It is recommended that you consult tax advisors if you are unsure of how taxes could affect your business.
It’s also worth pointing out that if you are a non-EU based seller, you may be required to appoint a tax representative to register for VAT in certain European countries. For support, take a look at Amazon’s Service Provider Network – this is a marketplace-approved directory of providers, including tax advisors, who meet the high standards set by Amazon.
When it comes to VAT, how it will be paid will depend on how you operate your business. If you decide to continue selling through an existing US LLC, you will have to register for VAT and pay taxes straight away. If you choose to set up a separate UK LTD company, you will only need to register for VAT when your sales reach the set VAT level.
You’ll also need to be aware of any import duties that may apply when shipping products to the UK – these duties can vary depending on the product category (and also the country of origin of the goods).
If you are sourcing from China, consider the tariffs you’ll pay for a US LLC vs a UK LTD company.
Additionally, every country has its own laws and industry requirements that need to be met. Here are some other implications to consider when expanding from Amazon US to UK:
Although the UK market is smaller than the USA market, there are a number of benefits to selling in the UK. Firstly, it’s an untapped market, where online shopping culture is thriving. By selling products on Amazon UK, you can diversify your revenue stream and reduce your reliance on the US market.
While the US market is indeed larger, opening an Amazon UK account actually expands your reach to Europe, courtesy of Amazon’s unified accounts. Use Amazon’s expansive logistics network to sell your goods to customers in almost every country in Europe. Plus, with Amazon’s European Fulfilment Network (EFN) or Multi-Country Inventory (MCI) programs, you can ship products from UK warehouses to European customers.
There’s also the advantage of reduced FBA fees and storage fees, as well as lower advertising costs compared to the US. You won’t have to pay any placement fees either. While this is required for Amazon sellers in the US, placement fees are not needed in the UK.
The costs that you’ll need to pay are your selling plan (based on units sold), referral costs, fulfilment fees, and other business costs such as storage fees.
Selling on Amazon UK as a USA seller is a great way to expand your business and reach new customers in Europe. Not only does your Amazon UK account allow you to sell to the UK market, but it also provides access to the rest of Europe.
By choosing to set up a UK LTD company, you will also be able to beat the latest tariffs set on Chinese-imported goods. While there are other costs to bear in mind, there are still ways to make a savings and ensure these savings are passed onto customers.
Despite the benefits of expanding from Amazon US to Amazon UK, only a small percentage of sellers are actually doing this. So this means you’ll be among the first to penetrate the market and establish your brand. This will give you a competitive edge as Amazon UK gains popularity.
If you are ready to get started, it’s important to get professional tax advice to ensure that you have all the information and knowledge to move ahead. It’s also important to find an experienced Amazon agency to support you with listing optimisation or Amazon ads.
An agency can also look after your entire Amazon account management if you don’t have the resources or skills in-house.
Need help expanding from Amazon USA to Amazon UK? If you are worried about the latest tariffs and need help setting up a business in the UK, get in touch with Seller Presto today. We can help you grow your sales through optimisation and paid ads, and can provide consultation based on your business goals and objectives.
Fill in our online contact form, call us on 01642 054694, or email our team on info@sellerpresto.com
If you want to unlock your Amazon growth potential but simply don’t have the time, Seller Presto can manage your entire Amazon operations. Get in touch to find out how we can transform your product sales today.