The US administration’s announcement of trade tariffs imposed across the globe will have a significant effect on international economies and trade dynamics. UK businesses need to rapidly take stock, assess the implications and think about the mitigation strategies open to them – remembering though that this is a highly fluid situation that may shift and evolve in the coming weeks.
Relatively speaking, the UK got off lightly with the baseline flat rate of 10% that will be imposed from 5th April, although this will still create significant impacts. Other countries are subject to much steeper rises from 9th April, with rates between 20% to 54% for trading partners such as the EU, Cambodia, Vietnam and Japan as well as those already announced for China, Mexico and Canada.
A flat rate of 25% is being imposed on all foreign car imports, commencing from 5th April. With the UK a significant exporter of cars to the US, this will create obvious challenges for our automotive industry.
For UK business as a whole, there may in fact be a slight sense of ‘déjà vu’ given the experience of Brexit and the trading and supply chain impacts that entailed. This may stand those UK businesses who have retained the learnings in good stead. Arguably, we have a head start here compared to businesses in other countries for whom these upheavals are completely new territory.
