Trump's tariffs fuel fresh call for 'Buy British' campaign

US president Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs have fuelled a surge in interest in British goods, with more and more UK consumers planning to boycott American goods amid fresh calls for a “Buy British” campaign.

That is according to a new survey of 2,000 UK adults conducted by Nominet, which reveals half of those questioned (49%) said the US tariffs would make them more likely from British firms, although a significant 37% remained undecided; only 14% said they would not be changing their buying habits.

Pride in British goods was significantly higher among those aged 55 and over, with those living in the North-East and West Midlands regions most likely to shun US goods.

Elsewhere in the survey, 54% agreed that a UK web address, those ending in co.uk or .uk, had an influence on where they purchased from online. Once again, this choice was significantly higher in those aged 55 and above.

People in the South-East of England and Scotland were most likely to buy from a UK domain name.

Nominet chief customer officer David Carroll said: “We’ve seen a Trump bump of our own in terms of online searches for UK domain names over the last week or so. With pride returning to buying British, it looks like a growing number of businesses and individuals are looking at registering a UK web address to join the 10 million already registered.

“Choosing a .UK domain name has always been a conscious decision for many online businesses, but with a growing sense of pride in buying British – now may be the time for many UK businesses to tap into this feeling.”

Searches on Google show that interest in UK web addresses grew significantly from the announcement of President Trump’s Liberation Day. The past week has seen the highest level of searches for ‘co.uk’ since February 2024.

Meanwhile a survey conducted by Savanta on behalf of the Liberal Democrats, found half of British adults say they are now less likely to buy American products and that six in 10 (59%) would support a campaign to buy more British-made goods.

Those of pension age were the most likely to support a ‘Buy British’ campaign with a 81% of those over the age of 65 saying they backed such a movement. Just 13% of the public said they would oppose the move.

The Liberal Democrats are urging the Government to launch a campaign calling on consumers to shop local and back British-made goods, with Treasury spokesperson Daisy Cooper saying Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to “listen to the public” and launch a “national effort to back British businesses”.

Cooper added: “This would send a collective message to the White House that we are not prepared to simply cower in the corner while Donald Trump takes a wrecking ball to people’s jobs and living standards.

“That needs to be combined with a clear plan to unleash the potential of our businesses and high streets, including scrapping the disastrous jobs tax and reforming the broken business rates.”

However, the Government has so far resisted the calls, with Chancellor Rachel Reeves, arguing in the Commons that such a move would risk making the UK appear too “inward-looking”.