Scots businesses react to Donald Trump's 10% import tariffs

Donald Trump’s 10% import tariffs on British goods “won’t stop transatlantic trade”, according to Allan Hogarth, executive director of the Scottish North American Business Council.

Trump slapped a 10% tariff on US imports of UK goods after the government failed to secure a deal on Wednesday night.

On Thursday morning, Scottish business owners and residents were taking stock of the news.

“Scottish companies knew they were likely going to face tariffs, and it appears that 10% is probably the least worst option that there was – it’s half the rate of EU,” Mr Hogarth told STV News.

“But the reality is that [America] is our biggest export market. We sold almost £4bn worth of exports from Scotland into the US last year, and over 750,000 Americans visited Scotland – and they stayed the longest and spent the most.”

He added: “There are over 150,000 Scots whose jobs depend on US companies . Those transatlantic ties are strong, and the tariffs are there, but they will not prevent transatlantic trade from continuing.”

Scottish business response

Scottish business owners have called US President Donald Trump’s latest import tariffs “disappointing”, but they said things could be worse.

“The US market is roughly 25% of our business, and we cover 40 states,” John Stirling, director at Arbikie Whisky Distillery, told STV News.

“It’s a vital part of our business now.”

The most immediate impact of the new tariffs, according to Mr Stirling, is uncertainty.

“It’s quite unpredictable what’s been happening,” he said.

Mr Stirling said the current 10% US import tariffs are “still going to cause us difficulty and massive uncertainty”, but added that it is “almost manageable”.

He worries that if Trump raises the tariffs even higher, it would create “massive difficulty” for British businesses like his own.

“It is a disappointment because I think we were really hoping it might be zero, but 10% isn’t too bad,” Mr Stirling added.

John Stirling, director of the Arbikie Whisky Distillery STV News

Stuart Ingram, owner and director of House of Elrick Gin, similarly said that the tariffs aren’t immediately going to have a detrimental impact on his business directly.

“10% is probably manageable, but if it goes higher, at what point does it become unmanageable?” Mr Ingram said.

“You just don’t know if these tariffs are going to stop at 10%.”

Mr Ingram said his main concern for his business is that the tariffs will increase the price of his gin for US consumers, which may lead them to shift away from purchasing British-imported products.

As a business that relies on the American market, Mr Ingram said that could be a problem.

“The perfect storm has arrived,” he said, listing the NHS crisis, increasing council tax, business rates, National Insurance rises, and the increasing cost of running a business.

“Everything the government is currently doing is hindering business growth,” he added.

“With the cost of [alcohol] duty having risen three times in recent years, the cost of doing business in the UK as alcohol producer [has gone up], and you’re margins are actually better at exporting than selling in the UK.”