Oxfordshire companies will ‘bounce back’ from Trump's Tariffs, says regional business expert
Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce says “there’s other opportunities” for trade
Last updated 9th Apr 2025
The Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce say they are confident that local companies will be able to navigate the storm of Donald Trump’s tariffs.
The US president announced a wave of global tariffs last week, including a blanket 10% charge on goods from the UK.
Amid ongoing market turmoil, UK firms are facing uncertainty over how the changes will impact their business.
“It’s going to be challenging but I’m still optimistic”
Paul Britton, Chief Executive of Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce says “there’s other opportunities” for businesses in the region.
He said: “There’s big markets, big emerging markets and fast-growing markets. I think it’s important to look at the opportunities out of this because the UK does have a great reputation as a great trading nation.”
He added: "This is in addition to National Insurance rises and National Living Wage, and this is another burden that SME’s (Small and Medium-sized Enterprise) in particular are looking at how they will cope and bounce back – but we will, we will bounce back, we are a resilient region.
“There will be organisations looking very closely at how they’ll adjust to this and what costs they can pass onto their customers. It’s going to be challenging but I’m still optimistic.”
Mr Britton is also urging the Government to come to a deal with the US around tariffs as well as “look at reducing the burden of running a business”.
UK stocks fell sharply again on Wednesday morning as Donald Trump's worldwide tariffs came into effect.
The import taxes announced by the US President last week, including a 10% charge on UK goods and a new 104% rate on some Chinese imports, took effect from midnight Washington time - just after 5am in the UK.
Ministers still hope an economic agreement with Washington can be reached to soften the blow of the 10% tariff Mr Trump imposed on UK goods, as well as the 25% import tax on cars and separate ones for steel and aluminium.
The Government are also expected seek to strengthen trade ties with other countries, including by trying to rebuild ties with the European Union.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves said: "In a changing world, this Government is accelerating trade deals with the rest of the world to back British business and provide the security working people deserve.
"We are going further, faster to create the best possible conditions for British business by working to reduce barriers to trade."