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Posted: Tue 4th Nov 2025
8 min read
Over 25 years, the UK has shifted decisively towards services, diversified modestly away from the EU and seen a run of shocks from the financial crisis to Brexit, COVID and, most recently, the 2025 US tariff regime.
Right now, small firms export less often and at smaller scale than large ones. But many opportunities remain if we make those first steps towards international trade less complicated and expensive.
The 2000s were defined by steady worldwide growth and falling trade barriers. The UK leaned into its advantage in services, from finance and insurance to creative and professional work.
Studies of the time and since underline how services became the UK's exporting advantage and a stabiliser when goods cycles turned down, with demand for services proving less volatile than many categories of goods.
For small firms, this decade was about the internet lowering discovery costs and marketplaces starting to open up routes to customers abroad.
But the export base still skewed towards larger firms that had the resources to navigate customs and standards.
The global financial crisis hit goods hard in 2009, with double-digit drops as world trade contracted.
Services held up better, and helped the UK's overall export performance stabilise sooner than many peers.
But the recovery was uneven. Official data from the time shows how volumes sagged before rebuilding into the mid-2010s.
For small businesses, tighter credit and weaker global demand made exporting tougher.
Those firms already trading abroad leaned on relationships and niche products, while businesses intending to enter overseas markets for the first time often put plans on hold.
By the mid-2010s, UK exports had broadly returned to levels seen before the financial crisis, with services doing more of the heavy lifting.
Market mix nudged towards non-EU buyers, but the EU remained the largest bloc. The groundwork for facilitating digital trade was being laid, though much of the practical friction for first-time small business exporters remained.
The Brexit vote and transition introduced new paperwork, rules-of-origin tests and uncertainty that raised the cost of trading, especially for smaller goods exporters moving low-value consignments.
Many SMEs reported spending more time on admin, encountering more courier queries at the border and a greater need for specialist advice.
Then COVID hit. Lockdowns and supply chain disruption hammered the flow of goods, while some services pivoted online and, in places, expanded.
Through this period, the data shows a clear pattern – services acted as a buffer, while goods exporters faced stop-start demand and a strain on logistics.
As the world "reopened", UK exports recovered towards 2019 levels in real terms. The composition continued to tilt towards services, including business, professional and creative sectors.
Non-EU trade became relatively more important at the margin, but the EU still mattered most in aggregate.
From a small-business perspective, three things stood out:
Moving physical goods into the EU continued to be complex, compared to how it was before 2021.
Service exports that could be delivered digitally saw faster growth.
There was a spread of simpler, embedded tools from platforms, logistics providers and payment firms.
By early 2025, headline exports were roughly back to 2019 levels in real terms, with services leading. Then a major new shock arrived: sweeping US tariffs in 2025 that hit a range of UK goods.
Goods exports from the UK to the US fell sharply year-on-year in the spring and summer, while other destinations were more stable. Business groups flagged a three-year low in UK exports to the US as the new measures dug in.
This matters for small goods exporters that rely on the US for volume and margin. Firms with diversified markets or service-led models were less exposed, but many felt the knock-on effects in confidence and planning.
The EU, as a bloc, remains the UK's largest customer. The US is the largest single country market.
Over two decades, there has been a gentle shift towards non-EU destinations, including the US and parts of Asia, but the change is evolutionary rather than dramatic.
For small firms, this means two practical points.
First, it's still rational to start with nearby EU markets where customer demand aligns and logistics are simpler, provided the customs process is managed well.
Second, niches exist worldwide, and digital services in particular can scale to customers far beyond Europe.
Large firms dominate export value, but SMEs make up a sizeable share of the exporter population and are critical in certain categories and regions.
The official count of exporting registered businesses shows tens of thousands of SME exporters, with churn as firms test markets and either embed or exit.
The implication is simple: the pipeline of new SME exporters matters. Lowering the first-step friction pays off in more firms trying, surviving the first year and growing.
Manufacturing and goods: High-value manufacturing has grown, while some traditional lines declined. For SMEs, the main issues remain rules-of-origin, conformity assessment and courier handling at the border.
Services: Finance, professional services, digital, creative and education have all expanded. Many SME services are now sold cross-border without physical presence, provided you manage tax, data and sector licensing.
Food and drink: Export interest is strong, but sanitary and phytosanitary controls and new "Not for EU" labelling requirements can be decisive for the smallest of exporters.
Make sure UK Export Finance is sufficiently resourced to meet its target of supporting 1,000 SMEs per year by 2029.
Extend the deemed reseller regime to all marketplace sellers to close VAT fraud and level the playing field.
Champion small business exports through visible leadership and co-ordinated promotion.
Reinstate and modernise a UK Tradeshow Access Programme to trigger exporting among a greater number of small businesses.
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