It may be over three thousand miles away, but it is not difficult to see that our lives in Reading are impossibly entwined with the United States. But as that country becomes more introspective and protectionist, how dependent are we in reality on the US, and is it time to contemplate a boycott on all things American? Is that even a possibility? inReading decided to delve further.

News of impending American tariffs, ranging from a baseline of 10% on most UK goods to steeper levies of 25% on sensitive sectors like steel, aluminium, and cars is a blunt instrument wielded by the new Trump administration in the name of ‘rebalancing trade’. And perhaps nowhere is this question more tangled, more representative of Britain’s intricate dance with our American cousins than in Reading.

Reading is often dubbed the “UK’s Silicon Valley,” a hub where our gleaming business parks in Green Park, Thames Valley and beyond are populated not just by British ingenuity but significantly by American corporate power. Sprawling campuses for Microsoft and Oracle sit alongside major operations for Cisco, Hewlett-Packard, Nvidia, Verizon, and cybersecurity firms like Rapid7. 

Financial giants and consultancies with deep US roots, such as Deloitte, PwC, KPMG, and Ernst & Young, have significant presences. PepsiCo runs offices here. Procter & Gamble operates a major centre for its Gillette subsidiary. Our town is entwined with the US and by our estimate 15-20,000 people  in the area work for US companies.

So, if the residents of Reading were to contemplate a consumer pushback against the tariffs – if only a quiet, grassroots effort to sidestep the Stars and Stripes in our daily transactions – what would that actually entail? In reality, it seems to be less an exercise in radicalism and more in navigating the complex labyrinths of modern globalization.

The most visible targets are, naturally, the easiest. One could forgo a Starbucks latte for a brew from an independent Reading café (choosing Lincoln Coffee House would be particularly ironic). Swap a McDonald's or KFC for a meal at a local pub or one of the town's local fish and chip, kebab or pizza takeaways. Perhaps selecting Honest Burger would make your point over the pond, although we do know that our friends across the pond aren't really that strong on irony.

Choosing Sainsbury's own-label ketchup over Heinz, or opting for a British-made chocolate bar instead of one from Mars or Mondelez/Cadbury’s (even if manufactured locally under license), feels like a straightforward act of micro-resistance. 

But the tendrils of American business run far deeper than fast food and condiments. Avoiding Procter & Gamble requires vigilance across supermarket aisles filled with household staples like Pampers, Gillette, and Pantene. Steering clear of Amazon for online shopping demands a conscious effort to support local retailers or UK-based platforms such as Argos.

Streaming choices could theoretically shift; perhaps favouring BBC iPlayer or UK-based services over Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, or Disney+, though the global nature of content libraries complicates even this. There is no alternative to sports coverage though, unless you stick with what’s available on Irish streamer Premier Sport or European based DAZN. All the major English and Scottish football games are shown live by Discovery and Comcast/Sky, both US companies - perhaps it's time to take sides in the Welsh Premier League, broadcast by the BBC?

However, the real challenge lies in the less visible, more integrated aspects of American economic presence. How does one boycott the Microsoft, Windows or Apple or Chrome operating systems that run the laptop you use for work, study or pleasure? At work, your Salesforce CRM or Oracle’s database software underpin countless British businesses; CrowdStrike, the US company with its European base in Reading recently brought down the whole of the NHS for days as well as many other U.K. businesses and government departments and yet much of UK critical infrastructure remains dependent on them for cybersecurity.

Meanwhile, many of these companies are also major local employers.

The dependence on the US for IT is almost complete from social media (Meta), search (Google), AI (Open AI, Anthropic), cloud services (Microsoft, Google and Amazon again). Do we just go back to paper and pencil, or maybe quills?                             

Furthermore, the lines blur. Is staying at the Reading Holiday Inn (part of the US-based IHG group) supporting America, or the local staff and suppliers? When engaging one of the "Big Four" accounting firms Deloitte, PwC, KPMG and EY, all with significant US operations and UK headquarters, is that an "American" transaction? The globalised nature of supply chains means components in ostensibly British or European goods may originate from US companies or pass through US logistics networks (such as DHL, FedEx and UPS).

Perhaps where you can hurt the US the most is by not holidaying there. Already there are extensive reports of people around the world not travelling to the US with worrying stories of problems at the border and even tourists being incarcerated, so for the time being, it may be worth contemplating Eurodisney over Disneyland.

There are areas where the US is not particularly successful. Unless you drive a Tesla (and there are many good reasons not to), US manufactured cars are reasonably rare in the UK and we export far more cars (especially from Jaguar LandRover).

A concerted effort in Reading to avoid American goods and services quickly becomes a complex, perhaps impossible, act of economic disentanglement. It highlights a fundamental truth: in a town so deeply interwoven with the American economy, a full boycott is not a practical strategy, but strategic replacement of overtly American products is.

What such an effort could represent, however, is a subtle recalibration – a conscious turn towards localism and non-American alternatives where feasible. It might mean actively seeking out Reading-based independent shops, favouring European tech alternatives if available, or making deliberate choices in entertainment and consumer goods. The motivation might be less about inflicting tangible economic damage – Reading alone won't dent the US economy – and more about sending a symbolic message, a quiet assertion of consumer sovereignty in the face of geopolitical hardball. And we really should all be supporting local independent businesses anyway - that is money that stays in our community.

 

Boycotting The USA – A Practical Guide

The USA is currently involved in trade wars with most countries on earth, including the UK. This week they proposed a 25% tariff on UK cars - a £7 billion export business, as well as practically collapsing the steel industry in the UK through separate tariffs. So we decided to let you decide if you want to fight back with your pocket.

According to US government figures, they currently officially export $76.4 billion to the UK every year, but this is a fraction of the actual figures since many companies use offshore tax havens to optimise their revenues: Apple in Ireland, Amazon in Luxembourg, for example.

According to the UK's ONS (which has proven to be less than reliable in recent times), in 2023 the UK imported £57.9 billion of goods from the United States (10.0% of all goods imported) and exported £60.4 billion of goods (15.3% of all goods exported) and imported £57.4 billion of services from the United States (19.5% of all services imported) and exported £126.3 billion of services (27.0% of all services exported).

Based on the most recent data available (referencing 2023 and the four quarters to the end of Q3 2024 from UK government and ONS sources)

The UK has an overall trade surplus with the United States.

Here's the breakdown:

1.  Overall Trade (Goods and Services):

In the four quarters leading up to the end of Q3 2024, the UK reported a total trade surplus (exports minus imports) with the US of £71.1 billion. This was an increase from £66.0 billion in the preceding year.

For the calendar year 2023, the total trade surplus was reported as £71.4 billion.

2.  Trade in Services:

The UK consistently runs a very large surplus in services trade with the US. For 2023, UK service exports to the US were £126.3 billion, while imports were £57.4 billion, resulting in a services surplus of £68.9 billion. This is the main driver of the overall surplus between the two nations and represents everything from financial services to advertising and film making.

3.  Trade in Goods:

The trade balance in goods is much closer and already fluctuates in value from year to year. In the four quarters to the end of Q3 2024, the UK reported a small goods surplus of £1.9 billion. For the calendar year 2023, UK goods exports to the US were £60.4 billion and imports were £57.9 billion, resulting in a goods surplus of £2.5 billion.

For the calendar year 2024 (based on preliminary data cited by Disruption Banking), the goods surplus narrowed further to £2.1 billion (£58.7bn exports vs £56.6bn imports).

So, while the trade in goods between the UK and US is relatively balanced (currently showing a small UK surplus), the UK's very strong performance in exporting services to the US creates a significant overall trade surplus for the UK.

 

What Can You Substitute?

Here are the US companies that sell the most in the UK - if you want to give Trump a taste of his own tariffs, these are the companies you should consider avoiding:

1. Amazon £30 billion in UK sales in 2024, including AWS cloud services.

2. Apple Estimated UK revenue of approximately $11 billion in 2024,  including product sales and services (apps, music, iCloud, Apple TV+ etc..).

3. Microsoft Around $10 billion in UK revenue, primarily from software, cloud services, and enterprise solutions.

4. Meta (Facebook) Approximately $7.2 billion (£5.8 billion) in UK revenue, largely from advertising. Brands include Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Threads, and Oculus VR devices.

5. Google (Alphabet) $3.2 billion (£2.6 billion) from advertising and cloud services. Brands include YouTube, Android OS devices (Pixel phones), Google Cloud services, and productivity tools like Google Workspace.

6. Coca-Cola UK sales of $1 billion+ across all products, including beverages and bottling. Brands include Fanta, Sprite, Schweppes, Minute Maid, Relentless, Innocent Drinks, Powerade, Fuze, Honest (drinks not burgers!).

7. PepsiCo has significant UK revenues, with Pepsi Max alone generating £673 million in revenue. Brands include 7UP, Mountain Dew, Tropicana, Naked Smoothies and Juices, Lipton Ice Tea, Rockstar, AMP, Walkers Crisps, Doritos , Quavers, Wotsits , Monster Munch, Frazzles, Chipsticks, Quaker Oats, Sabra Hummus.

8. McDonald's Estimated $3 billion+ from its extensive UK restaurant network

9. Procter & Gamble (P&G) Estimated $2 billion+ in UK sales from consumer goods like detergents and personal care products. Brands include: Ariel, Bold, Fairy, Lenor, Dreft, Flash, Febreze, Ambi Pur, Pampers, Pantene, Head & Shoulders, Herbal Essences, Olay, Gillette, Venus, Old Spice, Safeguard, Oral-B, Fixodent, Always, Tampax, Vicks, Clearblue, Pringles, Iams, Camsy, Tide.

10. Mondelez International £2.21 billion ($2.7 billion) in UK sales, led by brands like Cadbury and Oreo. Brands include: Cadbury's, Crunchie, Toblerone, Milka, Daim, Marabou, Terry's Chocolate Orange, Oreo, Chips Ahoy!, Belvita Breakfast Biscuits, LU Biscuits, Dairylea, Ritz Crackers, TUC Crackers, Bassetts (Wine Gums, Jelly Babies, Liquorice Allsorts), Halls (Cough Drops), Philadelphia Cream Cheese, Côte d'Or.

 

TV & Entertainment Services

Pretty much all streaming services are run from the US, here are how much money they make from the UK:

Comcast: Sky, Now TV, Peacock (NBCUniversal) UK Revenue: £10.5 billion

Netflix UK Revenue: £1,210.5 million

Amazon Prime Video UK Revenue: £821.5 million

Disney+ UK Revenue: £318.4 million

Apple TV+ UK Revenue not known

Paramount+ UK Revenue not known

YouTube (Google) UK Revenue not known

Cars

Ford sold 109,955 vehicles with UK revenues of £3.2 billion. Tesla sold approximately 39,000 vehicles, with UK revenues of £1.6 billion.

Local Services

If you use NextDoor, Google, Facebook or Etsy to find local goods or services, you are paying a tax to an American corporation in order to do business with business in your own community.

Tourism

UK tourists spent around £7bn in the US in the last year. 

Sports

Several major UK sports properties are owned or controlled by US owners or benefactors, including Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, Aston Villa, Crystal Palace, Bournemouth, Fulham, Burnley and Leeds Utd - plus Formula 1. Some of the new 'Hundred' franchises in cricket are US backed, including London Spirit and Welsh Fire.

Finance

Major US finance companies involved in the retail market include Fidelity, Chase, Vanguard, Capital One and American Express. Brokers such as Charles Stanley are owned by US financial company, Raymond James.

Fast Food

A large amount of the money Reading locals pay for food ends up in US pockets (albeit often through UK based franchise holders):

Burger King: A major US burger chain with outlets in Reading, including the Broad Street Mall.

Subway: Known for its submarine sandwiches, this US franchise has multiple locations in Reading, including Broad Street Mall and near the station.

Five Guys: This popular US burger chain known for its customizable burgers and fries has a prominent location in The Oracle shopping centre.

Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen: Specialising in fried chicken, this US chain opened a branch on Broad Street.

Taco Bell: Offering Mexican-inspired fast food, this chain (part of US company Yum! Brands) has an outlet in Broad Street Mall.

Starbucks: The ubiquitous American coffeehouse chain has multiple locations in Reading, including within The Oracle.

Domino's Pizza: A major US pizza delivery and takeaway chain with several stores serving the Reading area.

Pizza Hut: Another large US pizza chain (part of Yum! Brands again) with restaurants/delivery outlets in or near Reading.

Wendy's: This US burger chain has also established a presence in Reading near the station.

Krispy Kreme: Known for its doughnuts, this American brand has outlets/stands in Reading, including within The Oracle

Papa John's Pizza: A US-based pizza delivery and takeaway chain operating in Reading.

TGI Fridays: This troubled American casual dining chain known for cocktails and grill items has one restaurant remaining in Reading.

Auntie Anne's Pretzels: A US chain selling pretzels, located within The Oracle.

 

Finally, The Irony

Ironically of course, this article was written on an American device (iPad) using Google’s Keep and Microsoft Word using ChatGPT and Gemini as well as using Google and DuckDuckGo for search and is published to a server hosted in the U.K. by US company Digital Ocean and Cloudflare. However, the CMS is a product developed in Reading, if that’s of scant comfort and all words were produced in our town.