The Guardian - Trump tariffs cause fastest slump in British factory export orders in five years

Decline in output and new orders in April allied with rising uncertainty is prompting layoffs, survey finds

Phillip Inman
Thu 1 May 2025 08.32 EDT



Britain’s factories suffered a slump in export orders last month as Donald Trump’s globally unsettling tariff regime sent overseas demand for UK goods tumbling at the fastest pace in five years.

Manufacturers reported rising economic and trade uncertainties in April as some tariffs took effect and other threatened border taxes loomed, forcing them to lay off workers for a sixth consecutive month.

There were also further contractions in output and new orders, dragging business confidence to its lowest ebb since November 2022.

Describing the global backdrop as “tough”, S&P Global said its survey of manufacturers gathered anecdotal evidence that indicated “weak client confidence, trade uncertainty (including prospective US tariffs) and generally quiet global markets that had all weighed on export demand”.

Analysts said they expected the poor performance of UK factories to encourage the Bank of England to cut interest rates next week by at least 0.25 points to 4.25%.

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