You’re probably sick to the back teeth of hearing about Trump Tariffs given the amount of attention the press are giving to the US president’s latest bout of tariff imposing. But it’s important as a UK business owner to consider how the tariffs could impact your business. For some, Trump’s tariffs are creating an unstable work environment, and for others, opportunities for improved growth are available. We’ll explore the effects of the latest tariffs on UK businesses below, so you can consider how they might effect yours.
UK Exports To The US
Before Donald Trump announced 10% tariffs on most UK products being exported to the US on Wednesday 2nd April 2025, the UK exported nearly £60bn worth of products in 2024. That means the US market is a key player for millions of UK business owners. With tariffs imposed (and a defiant Trump insisting that they’ll stay, at least for now), UK businesses are considering whether there’s a market in the US for their products at all.
Increased costs to consumers could mean there’s less appetite in the US market when it comes to purchasing UK products. If that’s the case, UK businesses that rely on the US market as a key player in their sales strategy could be seriously impacted.
Of course, it’s all speculation for now until the impacts can be truly measured in the future. As a business owner, you should be thinking ahead to prepare for the potential impacts these tariffs could bring.
Potential Negative Impacts
For some, there could be a very real impact on their business, presenting itself as less orders from the US. Depending on how important the US market is to their business, this could be a huge problem.
For others, it’s the uncertainty surrounding the tariffs that’s the biggest issue. Some business owners will find themselves scaling back on any growth plans they might have put in place at the end of the last financial year ahead of the 2025/26 tax year. If expansion included the US market, then they might find themselves pausing those plans until the tariff issue is resolved, or at least much clearer.
Another potential issue is the need to raise prices for the consumer in order to cover the cost of these tariffs. Those price rises would likely need to be applied across the board, for all customers, and that could also mean a loss of business in other areas besides the US too.
Potential Positive Impacts
As odd as it might seem for those businesses being negatively impacted, there are some opportunities for some businesses and industries as the tariffs come into force.
Whilst no UK business welcomes tariffs, it is true that the tariffs imposed on the UK by President Trump isn’t as bad as it could have been. Our 10% tariffs dwarf in comparison to the 20% tariffs he’s applied to most European countries. This could leave some UK businesses in a prime position to increase their product sales in the US.
It’s industry specific, but for some in the manufacturing world, for example, sales in the US could be set to increase as US customers move away from the higher tariffs of European and Asian countries and look instead to the UK to supply some of their products.
What Does It Mean For Your Business?
As always as a business owner, the onus is on you to respond to changing conditions and make the most of them. Perhaps the US tariffs do have a real negative impact on sales for your business. But this could also be an opportunity for you to expand into a different market. You could look at starting up a presence in untapped markets like Asia or the Middle East, or perhaps look at increasing your sales in markets where you already have a presence like the UK and Europe.
If Trump Tariffs are really here to stay, then responding to them proactively is the best thing you can do to get ahead of the impacts and make the most of the situation. It’s tough, but when is being a business owner ever easy…
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