Global turmoil rocks City chiefs Deloitte survey shows

By EMILY HAWKINS

Updated: 00:05 BST, 14 April 2025

Finance chiefs at Britain’s biggest firms are more worried about geopolitical risks than at any time since Russia invaded Ukraine three years ago, it has been revealed.

And uncertainty over global turbulence had been rising sharply even before US President Donald Trump launched his ‘Liberation Day’ at the start of the month, the Deloitte survey shows.

Sixty-seven chief financial officers (CFOs) at a range of Britain’s biggest companies were polled. Among concerns raised were fears about tariffs and other barriers to trade.

Some 46 per cent labelled geopolitical developments as a ‘significant concern’ for their business – up from 15 per cent at the same time a year ago.

Amanda Tickel, head of tax and trade policy at Deloitte UK, said: ‘Given widespread speculation over the scale and scope of US tariff rises during the survey period, it is unsurprising that CFOs reported elevated levels of uncertainty.

Previous periods of uncertainty over future terms of trade have resulted in a prolonged squeeze on investment.

Geopolitical risks: Uncertainty over global turbulence had been rising sharply even before US President Donald Trump launched his ‘Liberation Day’

‘This is still a rapidly evolving environment and businesses will need to be proactive in mitigating the effects of tariffs.

‘Right now, businesses will be modelling the potential impacts, assessing whether their customs operations are prepared and ensuring they have as much flexibility as possible to source and supply.’

The poll included CFOs of 14 FTSE 100 companies and 20 from the midcap FTSE 250 as well as other UK-listed companies – large, privately held firms and UK subsidiaries of global businesses.

It was conducted from March 18 to 31 – drawing to a close two days before Trump’s so-called ‘Liberation Day’ of tariff bombshells that have since rocked global markets.

The figures indicate that major businesses were already braced for a sizeable impact even before the US President ramped up his trade war.

Deloitte also found that a concern for weakness or volatility in US growth hit its highest level since records began in 2020.

Fears over the impact of Trump’s levies sent markets into a tailspin last week.

And though he announced a 90-day pause on most countries on Wednesday, there has since been further turbulence as traders grappled with continued uncertainty. The President also ramped up his tariffs on China – the world’s second largest economy – with the latter responding in kind.

That left investors scrambling to dump American assets, sending the dollar plunging and pushing up bond yields.

The White House will be hoping for calmer markets when trading resumes today.

If the news is glum, however, it could face calls for a bigger climbdown – or for the US Federal Reserve to intervene.

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Global turmoil rocks City chiefs Deloitte survey shows

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Global turmoil rocks City chiefs Deloitte survey shows