Bristol businesses try to navigate Trump's tariffs

A study has assessed how Bristol and South Gloucestershire businesses may be impacted by trade tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump last week.

The research by the Centre for Cities found Bristol and South Gloucestershire exported nearly £1bn of goods to the US in 2022 - mostly aerospace exports.

Last week the US imposed a sweeping range of tariffs on a number of countries that were later reduced to a baseline of 10% on all except China, Mexico and Canada.

"Even in today's terms, it's a lot of money - it's about 12% of the total goods Bristol exports," said chief executive of Centre for Cities, Andrew Carter.

"On the one hand, is that it's a big number but the silver lining is that we also export to other parts of the world," added Mr Carter of the organisation, which calls itself an independent, non-partisan urban policy research unit.

"There are opportunities elsewhere and that's a good thing."

Bristol's exports are roughly an even split between physical goods and services, such as film editing and accountancy, which is not yet subject to any tariffs.

While the UK is earmarked for a lesser tariff of 10%, car manufacturers - such as Jaguar Land Rover, whose cars are often exported through the port at Avonmouth - are subject to a tariff of 25%.

"We should be relieved it's not worse - but the 10% position is not a good one to be in and it will affect growth and investment," said Mr Carter.

While larger businesses such as Rolls Royce and Airbus are likely to bear the brunt of tariffs - smaller businesses are also not immune and could be disproportionately affected.

Chris Frappell, managing director of Nailsea-based motorbike maintenance company Tru-Tension, who appeared on the BBC's Dragons Den in 2018, said: "Ultimately, it has a pretty profound effect on the business - the US is one of our biggest markets and certainly our biggest growing market."

Approximately 20% of his turnover came from the US, he said.

"We're going to end up with a 10% higher price for our customers and that means competitors of ours in the US can gain more market share and ultimately we have to make a choice between swallowing that price or increasing them," he said.

Trump has said he wants the tariffs to move manufacturing jobs back to the US.

Mr Frappell said the company had no plans to turn its back on the US market but was weighing up relocating some of its manufacturing in China to the US. He added this would still result in higher prices due to increased costs.

"Ultimately, the UK industries that do manufacture here and export to the US may decide that it's not viable to manufacture here any more and that drives business away from the UK," he said.