Blog by William Bain, Head of Trade Policy

These have been turbulent times in the world of trade recently. In the second quarter of 2025 there was a 13% reduction in UK goods exports to the US, compared with a year ago.

The average effective US tariff rate has been pushed to its highest level since 1934. And the ending of the $800 de minimis threshold for goods entering the US, caused postal services to pause deliveries. But through it all, UK companies have continued to be agile, resilient, and on the front foot. 

At the BCC’s recent Global Annual Conference break-out session on Global Trade, chaired by Chris Heyes from the UK-India Business Council, that was also the message from our panel of participants.

They included: Robert Begbie – CEO NatWest Commercial and Institutional, Gregor Poynton – Labour MP for Livingston and member of the House of Commons Business and Trade Select Committee, Jun Du – Professor of Economics at Aston University, and William Bain – BCC Head of Trade Policy. 

The UK’s economic success story is its trade in services – rising from £330bn to over £500bn in exports per annum since 2019. This is well over half of all UK exports; with AI, business and professional services, travel and transport services surging alongside traditional strengths in financial services.  

The US is the largest export market for UK services. Our UK-US investment links remain strong with over £1.2tr in bilateral investment stock held by companies on either side of the Atlantic. Meanwhile, the EU remains the UK’s largest export market for goods with nearly 48% of UK goods being sent there.

The Indo-Pacific region is also fast expanding as a destination for UK traders. With the India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) coming into effect around a year from now, UK exporters will benefit from an immediate £400m reduction in import duties.

This will add £4.8bn to the UK economy in time. This is not only good news for whisky and car exports, but also many other goods as over 90% of India’s import duties will be lowered. This will create benefits across many economic sectors. 

Our new relationship with countries in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) will let UK businesses build upon the £31bn in annual goods exports to the bloc. It will also boost investment and deepen co-operation in the region, while Chambers trade missions continue to show the importance of China as a market. 

 So, while It has been a year of rollercoaster twists and turns in trade with more yet to come, there are still many options for savvy companies to expand.

By adopting a strategy of market diversification, a world full of opportunity for UK exporters remains.