Discover my 'Buy South Devon, Back Britain' campaign

Local Liberal Democrat MP, Caroline Voaden, has launched a ‘Buy South Devon, Back Britain’ campaign to support local businesses in the wake of Donald Trump’s tariffs announced this week [April 2nd].

Caroline Voaden said that people should “rally round” local businesses at risk from the economic shock caused by Donald Trump’s disastrous trade war, including local producers and high street shops.

The Liberal Democrats are also calling on the government to come forward with a raft of measures to help businesses stay afloat and protect South Devon’s high streets, including scrapping the jobs tax and overhauling business rates. 

Further distress has been caused to farmers in South Devon after it was reported in the Times that tariffs on US beef, chicken and pork would all be slashed in a proposed agreement between Trump and the UK. It risks undercutting farmers once more in a deal following the Conservatives disastrous Australia and New Zealand deals for farmers.

It was recently estimated that Trump’s tariffs could wipe out up to 1% of GDP which would push many British businesses to the wall. The measures announced by the US President last night will see 10% tariffs on UK exports and 25% tariffs on all automotive exports to the US. 

The Liberal Democrats have outlined a number of steps the Government should already be taking to back British businesses in the face of Trump’s tariffs and stagnant economic growth. They included scrapping the growth-crushing jobs tax coming into effect in the coming days and overhauling the broken business rates system to unleash the growth potential of our high-streets and manufacturers. 

To help support businesses in South Devon, Caroline has launched a Small Business Survey to discover the most pressing issues facing them and how she can assist.

You can take part in Caroline’s survey here: https://www.carolinevoaden.com/business-survey

Liberal Democrat MP for South Devon, Caroline Voaden said:

“It is not just the threat of the Trump administration's tariffs that is causing anxiety for businesses but also the Government’s decision to hammer them with their misguided jobs tax in the coming days. All this spells out to be a double-whammy for our local businesses and we need to make sure we support them where we can.

“So, it’s time for us to take a leaf out of the Canadian’s book, rally round our fantastic local businesses and Buy British to support them in their moment of need. If Keir Starmer is too scared to confront Trump, then it is up to all of us to show we will not be bullied and stand up to this nonsensical trade war.”