More than one in five UK small and medium-sized enterprises say international trade tariff disputes remain the single biggest challenge facing their business, as global tensions continue to drive up costs and disrupt supply chains.
New research from Paragon Bank, based on a survey of 1,000 SMEs, found that 21 per cent now view tariff wars as their most significant current concern — ahead of labour shortages, inflation and domestic regulatory pressures.
The findings come almost a year after Donald Trump set out a new round of global tariffs, with ongoing geopolitical tensions adding further uncertainty to international trade. Businesses cited rising input costs, supply chain disruption and shrinking profit margins as the most immediate consequences.
The impact is particularly acute in sectors most exposed to international trade. In transportation and storage, more than a third (36 per cent) of SMEs said tariffs represented their primary challenge, while in manufacturing one in four businesses reported the same.
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