Trump Tariff Threats Cast Shadow Over UK Small Business Survival
Donald Trump's renewed threat to impose escalating tariffs on British imports has sent shockwaves through the UK's small business community, with one entrepreneur warning it could force closures and plunge the country into recession. The US president has declared that nations opposing his pursuit of Greenland, including the United Kingdom, will face 10% tariffs on all products starting next month, rising to 25% from June 1st until Washington secures control of the Danish territory.
"My Heart Sank": Business Owner's Dire Warning
Martha Keith, founder and chief executive of Dorset-based stationery company Martha Brook, described the announcement as devastating news. "What happened last year had a huge impact on us," she revealed. "When I read the news at the weekend my heart sank again." Her company, established twelve years ago, manufactures stationery in Britain and sells directly to customers online, with approximately 40% of sales coming from American buyers through platforms like Etsy.
The potential 25% tariff scheduled for June represents yet another formidable obstacle for her enterprise, compounding the damage caused by existing 10% tariffs introduced in 2025. Those previous measures already triggered a dramatic reversal in her company's fortunes. "Before the tariffs, we were up 50% on Etsy - it was a massive area of growth for us," Ms Keith explained. "Now they're down 50%. The swing is astonishing."
Economic Impact and Political Response
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has condemned the tariff threats as "completely wrong," urging calm while warning that a trade war would "benefit nobody." Economic analysts fear the measures could plunge both the UK and European Union into recession, with potential damage to British GDP reaching £22 billion. This comes at a particularly sensitive time, given that between July 2024 and July 2025, the United States served as Britain's largest trading partner, accounting for 17.8% of total UK trade according to Office for National Statistics data.
William Bain, head of trade policy at the British Chamber of Commerce, emphasised the severity of the situation. "New tariffs on goods exported to the US will be more bad news for UK exporters, already struggling with the tariffs levied last year," he stated. "We know trade is one way to boost the economy and the success of transatlantic trade depends on reducing, not raising, tariffs."
Business Model Under Threat
For Martha Brook, the tariff increases threaten to make their entire business model unsustainable. Ms Keith absorbed the extra costs from last year's tariffs rather than passing them to consumers, costing her business $7,500 (£5,500) on already-sold products before sales dropped "dramatically" when the measures took effect. "It's absolutely something that threatens the future of a business like ours," she asserted. "Last year was the first year that it felt like that model was truly under threat."
The stationery entrepreneur highlighted how the challenges have accumulated for UK small businesses. "This is the direct-to-consumer route, this is how a lot of businesses in the UK start and they grow," she explained. "It has become so hard post-Brexit, with the intricacies of European shipping, the different packaging regulations for every country, GPSR - it's one thing after another. The US was a great market for us. That route is being shut down."
Wider Industry Concerns
Industry leaders have echoed these concerns, warning that the tariffs threaten years of relationship-building and investment. Geoffrey de Mowbray, chairman of the British Exporters Association, noted that "the idea that new tariffs could be imposed with little warning leaves businesses unsure how to plan or price for the months ahead." He emphasised that many affected companies are owner-managed operations with tight margins, lacking legal teams or financial buffers to absorb sudden cost increases.
Michelle Ovens, chief executive of Small Business Britain and adviser to the UK Government's Board of Trade, highlighted the disproportionate impact on smaller enterprises. "Government data published in September 2025 shows that while just 17% of SMEs export, they account for almost half of the UK's exports to the US," she revealed. "This makes small businesses a critically important part of the conversation and particularly sensitive to sudden changes in trading conditions."
Testing Resilience to Breaking Point
Despite the mounting pressures, Ms Keith remains determined to navigate the challenges, though she acknowledges the strain on business owners. "We've committed to keep going and navigating this," she stated. "Small business owners are very resilient but this is really testing the resilience." However, she warned that additional tariffs could prove devastating, adding: "It feels very frustrating and it has had a demonstrable financial impact on our business already. I think, if there are any more tariffs brought in, we could see a further impact which would be quite devastating."
The situation presents a critical test for UK-US relations and the survival of countless small businesses that have built their models around transatlantic trade, with entrepreneurs now facing the prospect of reinventing their operations or facing potential closure.
