United Kingdom 
South Africa 
Q2 2025 will be remembered for the quarter where international trade was turned on its axis!
The rates for US tariffs are still in a state of flux but there is an expectation that they will remain at 10% minimum for UK exports to the US.
The Government is pushing ahead with forming international trade agreements between many countries and regions including India, Europe, Canada, Gulf and South Korea amongst others.
These could provide some opportunities for some businesses but may also cause some challenges for others.
What steps can you take to assist your clients?
- Advisers should begin an exercise to assess how their clients may be impacted, by first segmenting them according to their sector. Businesses in agriculture, food production, textiles and light manufacturing/engineering could be impacted by more competition from new entrants with cheaper costs of production. Strategic business planning may help them identify new routes to market and opportunities for growth, so that they are less reliant on their traditional business activities.
- Clients who export directly to the US are likely to have already recognised that their costs will increase. Cash flow projections will help them understand if they have capacity to absorb those higher costs or whether they need to increase their prices. The importation process and paperwork is also likely to become more time-consuming, at least in the short-term, so it will be worth considering the timing of shipping in the coming months and also whether to move some production or retail to the US in the longer term.
- Analysing which companies import directly and from which countries, will allow you to help them consider if their costs will change. Some companies who export to the US may choose to increase costs across all their markets, to offset some of the trading impact of tariffs on dealing with US customers. Other companies may choose to offload excess stock onto the UK market, so this may bring prices down.
- All other trading businesses will find that their purchasing costs will likely be disrupted eventually, as increased costs filter down the supply chain. This may be an opportunity to revisit who they use as their suppliers, to ensure that their supply chain is resilient and as cost-effective as it can be.
- If other clients are considering exporting to new markets, especially those countries where new trade deals have been negotiated, you can signpost them to the UK Export Academy or the British Chamber Network.
How can your Capitalise partnership help you support these clients?
Here are three ways we can support:
- Funding - with access to over 100 lenders across the full range of products, you can quickly identify potential sources of finance if your client needs more working capital. This could be in the form of a cash flow loan or other short term funding such as invoice finance or a merchant cash advance. For those clients who are trading internationally, supply chain finance or trade credit can be used to fund the transaction.
- Optimising credit scores - using the Credit Review Service, you can help your client have the highest credit score possible, so that they can attract the lowest interest rates for lending and the highest trade credit from their suppliers. This is especially important if they are going to be forming new supplier relationships.
- Tracking credit scores - as more companies are adjusting to this new world of costs, your client will benefit from tracking the resilience of their existing suppliers to watch for any signs of distress. They should also keep a closer eye on their customers so they can react quickly and change their trading terms, if the company looks to be suffering from financial difficulty.
Capitalise works in partnership with you, so you can help your clients. The platform is there as a source of financial and credit data. Plus the Capital Report allows you to share it with your client in an easy way, highlighting the latest opportunities and risks.
Your Partnership Manager will be able to answer any questions you have about funding, credit scores or how to get the most out of the platform. Contact them directly or at partner.support@capitalise.com
