With Donald Trump doubling down on proposed tariffs affecting some of the USA’s largest trade partners, logistics expert David Hooper says it is vital that British businesses have a firm grasp on how they could be impacted.
The latest US tariff announcements should be a wake-up call for British businesses.
By promising 25% tariffs on imports into the country from Canada and Mexico – Donald Trump is showing that even America’s closest trading partners and neighbours won’t be exempt from significant trade barriers.
While the UK hasn’t been directly named in recent announcements, the plan for broad tariffs affecting trusted US allies sends a clear signal that British exporters can’t assume they’ll receive special treatment just because of our “special relationship” with America.
The proposed 10% additional tariff on Chinese goods is particularly important because many British products contain Chinese components or materials, meaning UK manufacturers could face hidden impacts even if they think they’re not affected.
British companies, or indeed any company which thinks they won’t be affected, need to understand that when the world’s two largest economies – the US and China – change how they trade, everyone feels the impact through supply chains, prices, and market access.
Smart businesses are already mapping out their exposure – not just looking at direct exports to America but checking where their components come from, whether their suppliers use Chinese parts, and if their Canadian or Mexican trade could be disrupted.
Many UK manufacturers will need to make tough choices about their supply chains, potentially choosing between keeping costs down with Chinese components or avoiding US tariffs by sourcing elsewhere.
There’s practical work to do now: reviewing supplier origins, checking contract terms, looking at pricing flexibility, and perhaps most importantly, starting conversations with American customers about how to handle potential cost increases.
British companies should treat this as an opportunity to strengthen themselves by diversifying their markets, reviewing their supply chains, and making sure they’re not overly dependent on any single country for either sales or supplies.