The British Retail Consortium has recently released a survey result showing consumer sentiment about the state of the global economy following the U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement of tariffs. The outcome, predictably, is sinking.
The survey was conducted from April 4 to 7 on 2,000 British consumers, a date shortly after Trump’s announcement. According to the published results, people are becoming more frightened as the sentiment dropped from -35 in March to -48.
The consortium’s CEO, Helen Dickinson, stated that it is not surprising since the respondent just received the news of tariffs imposition on many nations. Economists now speculated that Britain may face slower growth rate but may receive cheaper goods imports.
Meanwhile, a survey conducted by Barclays showed a small change in consumer confidence, a largely different result compared to BRC. However, this outcome may be due to its questions that focus on the economy’s state in March instead of in April.
There is also a speculation that Asian and European nations may shift their exports to the British instead. The island nation could face massive goods with unfairly low prices.
Finance Minister, Rachel Reeves, then reassured people by stating that the British government is searching for a measure to prevent such an event from happening.