North East ‘navigating global trade well’, new data shows

NORTH East exporters appear to have weathered growing global trade tensions in the second quarter of 2025, a new survey suggests.

- GRAEME WHITFIELD

Latest findings from the UK Trade Barometer show 57% of Northern exporters increased sales to existing markets between April and July.

The Barometer which is compiled by airports group MAG and The Growing Together Alliance of business organisations - surveys more than 2,000 businesses about their export performance over the past three months and their expectations for the quarter ahead.

The survey period coincided with growing tensions over increasing US tariffs, but also the announcement of UK trading agreements with India and the EU.

In the survey, 42% of North East firms grew sales to existing markets, the highest figure in the North. But the region lagged behind the North West and Yorkshire and Humber when it came to entering new markets for the first time

Both nationally and in the North, the US remained the largest single export market, with European countries seen as a key area for growth.