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Liberation Day and your Business

ended 03. April 2025

We've got a lot of journalists asking us for views from business owners in all sectors as to how they might be impacted by the tariffs announced yesterday in the Rose Garden. Will your business be hit hard by, or even benefit from, Trump's recalibration of global trade? If so, how? And have you put any plans in place already by way of response? Any insights or thoughts, send them across. 

5 responses from the Newspage community

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Tony Redondo
Founder at Cosmos Currency Exchange
Trump’s tariffs—10% on US imports, up to 49% on some—hit my UK, EU, Scandinavia, Canada, and Australia SME clients variably depending on their sector and region. The hardest hit will be the manufacturing, engineering, and food exporters to the US, especially from Canada and the EU. All face higher costs and lower competitiveness. IT firms may gain if US rivals’ prices rise, and properties are neutral unless materials spike. A trade shift to Asia (e.g., India) could benefit pivots. Plans include a US exposure reassessment, diversifying markets, sourcing locally, stockpiling, lobbying via trade groups, raising prices, and going digital as services are not covered by tariffs. Chaos now with costs up and competitiveness down but a possible opportunity tomorrow, if they play it right.
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Richard O'Connor
Director at First Mats
We currently only sell to customers in the UK, so Trump's tariffs are unlikely to affect our sales directly. However, we have many customers in manufacturing and automotive who will take a bigger hit, which could harm our sales to them. We're not going to knee-jerk into any emergency action just yet, because I predict that these tariffs will be scaled back over the coming weeks. For us right now, it's a case of focusing on what we're good at, while keeping one eye on the rapidly changing wider market.
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Pete Mugleston
Mortgage Advisor & Managing Director at onlinemortgageadvisor.co.uk
The irony of Trump's tariffs is that they might benefit us in the mortgage industry. If global trade slows and inflation pressures ease, it could lead to cuts in the base rate, improving affordability and boosting housing market activity, particularly in the first-time buyer market. The flip side is that prolonged volatility could dent consumer confidence and delay buyer decisions. We’re watching closely and planning for both scenarios – ensuring our clients are informed and our advisors are prepared to support borrowers cope with any economic uncertainty that may follow.
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Mike Staton
Director at Staton Mortgages
Luckily, we have been preparing for the worst since our own government decided to commit economic suicide with their infamous budget, Trumps tariffs seems like child's play compared to the misery piled on us by recent tax increases, NI increases and other cost increases on the back of the Labour parties broken election promises. Infact, I think the Labour Party deserve a round of applause for numbing us to the point that actions we once would have deemed terrifying now seem mundane and quite normal
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Luke James
Tax Director at Gravitate Accounting
We have clients across a variety of sectors, including manufacturing and e-commerce. Many will see higher costs due to Donald Trump’s tariffs, and additional costs if they sell to America.
The UK is yet to officially react but businesses reliant on American suppliers may also be forced to add additional tariffs in retaliation.
The combination of the above may lead to lower profitability which also could have the knock-on effect of reducing a company’s valuation, especially for businesses reliant on global trade.
UK exporters to America could choose to increase prices to reduce the impact on profitability but this could have knock on effect on drop in sales as they could be undercut by local suppliers. This is essentially Trump’s goal to grow America’s economy.
We will be advising all clients on how they can mitigate these new challenges and maintain financial stability during such an unpredictable economic period.