Survey shows US tariffs set to hit Midlands mid-sized firms

More than half of mid-sized businesses in the Midlands expect to feel a serious impact from new US tariffs, according to a survey by accountancy and advisory firm BDO.

BDO polled 500 companies between 24 March and 2 April – before the official tariff announcement – and found 54% anticipated being hit hard, while the remaining 46% expected at least some impact.

Not a single business said it would be unaffected.

Simon Bird, international tax partner at BDO in the Midlands said: ‘Mid-market businesses in the Midlands have seen the writing on the wall and have braced themselves for the impact of the US administration’s tariff policies.

“However, this doesn’t mean that they are all prepared. Some UK companies will urgently need to take proactive measures to confirm the correctness of their goods classification and to verify the true country of origin for the goods they export into the US. Supply chains can often be complex – for example, Chinese goods are often trans-shipped via other countries to the US but they remain of Chinese origin and would be subject to the tariff levels being placed on Chinese goods.

“Longer term, many businesses will need to consider supply chain and wider operational footprint changes – such as changing the territory of sourcing and/or the location of their manufacturing operations.”