The past year of President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariff regime has pushed British exporters to seek greener pastures than the United States market, turning instead to Europe and Asia in search of sales.
The United Kingdom Trade Barometer, released by the Manchester Airports Group and the Growing Together Alliance, polled 2,000 businesses about their global trading habits between October and December. Researchers found that movement away from the U.S. was most pronounced among manufacturers targeting new territories, with orders coming in from China, Japan, Australia and members of the European Union like France, Germany and Spain.
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It’s a trend that’s poised to continue throughout 2026, the researchers wrote. The shift away from the American export market was experienced across sectors, with just 24 percent of respondents saying they increased U.S. sales in the fourth quarter, having fallen progressively from 29 percent at the beginning of last year. Just 14 percent of firms pointed to America as a new market in Q4, down from 20 percent in Q1.
By contrast, nine markets have seen a marked uptick in popularity as export destinations. In Q4, 10 percent of respondents said they would increase sales to Australia (compared to 6 percent who said the same in Q1), 6 percent said they’d increase sales to Spain (compared to 5 percent in Q1) and 6 percent said they would up efforts to reach New Zealand (up from 2 percent in the first quarter of 2025).
The shift in export destinations is especially notable when taking into account that nearly half (46 percent) of manufacturers said they’d actually upped their export volumes over the three months of the fourth quarter. Just 16 percent said those new shipments were destined for the U.S.
In fact, by the end of 2025, 12 percent of U.K. producers surveyed said their sales to China had grown, up from 6 percent in Q1, while 8 percent named Japan as a growth market, up from 4 percent in the first quarter. Nine percent of firms identified as first-time sellers to China in Q4, up from 4 percent in Q1, while 9 percent said they cracked the Japanese market at the end of the year, up from 2 percent in Q1.
While the trends are pronounced, all regions of the U.K.—London, the North, the Midlands and the East of England—expect sales to the U.S. to rebound during the first part of 2026, with 43 percent of London exporters saying they expect an uplift.
All of these regions saw their weakest quarter of overseas sales in Q4, though 64 percent of London exporters said they saw some growth (compared with 50 percent in the North, 47 percent in the Midlands and 44 percent in the East of England). Predictably, London-based exporters were the most bullish about the upcoming quarter, with 44 percent saying they expect output and sales to grow and 33 percent planning to enter a new market for the first time.
“As an island trading nation, we know how important our export performance is to the overall economic health of the U.K.,” Manchester Airports Group CEO Ken O’Toole said Monday.
“This full-year data shows the direct impact global events can have on businesses’ order books—but it also shows that British exporters are skilled at diversifying and pivoting to new markets—harnessing the resilience and innovation of our globally trading firms will be important if we want to kick-start growth.”
O’Toole tempered his optimism, however, saying, “While some economic indicators point to a potential upturn in growth during the course of 2026, the fact fewer than one in three exporters expect to increase sales in the first part of this year paints a slightly different picture.”
As the U.K. government looks to deliver its Industrial Strategy—a 10-year plan to ratchet up business investment in eight growth-driving sectors—”there is a clear opportunity to be grasped: by growing the number of firms that trade globally, we can boost productivity and living standards in regional growth corridors across the U.K.,” he added. “It is vital Government works with business to understand the steps it could take to help more firms trade internationally, including encouraging investment in the infrastructure that unlocks international connectivity.”
Henri Murison, chair of the Growing Together Alliance, said the group saw a “clear recalibration” in U.K. trade patterns in 2025. “While America remains a vital market, particularly for manufacturers, exporters have increasingly diversified as conditions have shifted. This reflects geopolitical realities, but also the adaptability and resilience of UK firms.”
Murison called the pivot to Europe and Asia “notable,” saying that if Prime Minister Keir Starmer can negotiate reduced trade barriers with the EU, “it would make trade with countries in the European Union easier without allowing accusations of Brexit betrayal that a full-blown customs union could lead to.”
“The continued strength of London is welcome, and the priority should now be ensuring that export-led growth is not confined there but supports further increasing productivity across all regions,” he added.
