(26 February 2025 – United Kingdom) Simmering geopolitical tensions over the last five years has only improved the growth aspirations for leading corporates to expand internationally.
The landscape of future global trade brings few certainties. The first month of the Donald Trump administration in the USD has brought fresh threats of steep tariffs, leading major companies to reconsider where they manufacture and who they sell to, Ryan Hogg reports for Fortune.
Add to that headwinds in once-reliable consumer markets, notably China, and the appeal of expanding internationally looks much lower than it once was. There are clear obstacles to expanding internationally, with domestic competition near the top of the list.
The emergence of domestic Chinese competitors in the manufacturing sector serves as a cautionary tale for that expansion. In response, businesses in the UK are displaying a rising tendency towards “nearshoring” by trading with geographically and politically aligned nations, mainly in Europe. Despite this, many leading MNCs hold strong growth forecasts according to HSBC.
“Despite all the noise you hear about the global landscape, companies are trading and increasing trading. Companies don’t seem to be trying to link their business decisions by linking up to political cycles as much, because many of these companies are figuring out the medium, longer term” commented HSBC Head of Global Trade Solutions, Vivek Ramachandran.
“UK based companies are still trading more with the continent, and not always because the opportunity is the largest, but it feels the most accessible. And so geographic distance still seems to be a barrier in terms of expansion.”