New research by the BCC’s Insights Unit has uncovered the extent to which firms are worried about the impact of US tariffs on their operations.
The survey of more than 1,200 firms, of which over 260 were manufacturing exporters, was carried out over the past few weeks.
During this time the US President, Donald Trump, imposed tariffs on Chinese trade and announced plans for tariffs on Canada and Mexico. But he had not imposed any fresh charges on UK imports.
Overall, 10% of businesses think the introduction of new tariffs on goods entering the USA would have a significant impact on them. 23% think it will have a slight impact, 56% no impact, and 10% don’t know.
William Bain, Head of Trade Policy at the British Chambers of Commerce, said: “The UK should adopt a flexible and agile approach to these, while assessing the response of other major players.
There is a month until the UK’s current tariff quotas expire, we would encourage Ministers to respond cautiously, and retaliatory actions should only be a measure of last resort.”
