New British trade leader stops in Philadelphia to boost international ties

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British trade leader Oliver Christian’s first day on the job in America was the day President Donald Trump announced his sweeping global tariff strategy on international imports — which he called “Liberation Day,” April 2.

“I arrived on a very auspicious day in the United States,” said Christian, who is both the trade commissioner for North America serving under King Charles III and the British Consul-General for New York.

Since then, “my feet have not touched the ground,” he said. “It’s been busy.”

In late May, Christian made a visit to Philadelphia, complete with a tour of the Liberty Bell and the city’s preparations for the 2026 FIFA World Cup games.

It also included a networking event hosted by the British American Business Council of Greater Philadelphia, held at the World Affairs Council of Philadelphia on May 21.

The visit came on the heels of the United Kingdom inking a trade deal with Trump on May 8.

“The trade deal that we’ve signed is the start, there is more to be done and we are very confident about the relationship we have with the American administration in D.C. and the president,” Christian said.

The pharmaceutical industry in Pennsylvania and the U.K.

There’s one key piece for companies in Pennsylvania that still needs to be hashed out — pharmaceutical industry tariffs.

“We need to work through the details and try to find a mutually beneficial agreement on those areas,” Christian said.

In 2024, companies operating in Pennsylvania imported $1.15 billion worth of pharmaceutical products from the U.K., according to the U.S. Census trade data.

That same year, companies across the commonwealth exported $443 million in pharmaceutical products to the U.K.

London-based GlaxoSmithKline, known as GSK, already has a big footprint in Pennsylvania, with biotechnology research and manufacturing facilities. It has dual U.S. headquarters in Philadelphia and Durham, North Carolina.

GSK is currently in the midst of an $800 million project in Lancaster County, its largest U.S. manufacturing investment so far, to build a facility to produce vaccines. In exchange, GSK expects to receive $21 million in state grants, plus local property tax relief.

The Lancaster County manufacturing deal was announced several months before Trump’s tariffs on global imports.

More business between the commonwealth and the U.K.

There are about 55,000 workers across Pennsylvania who work for 850 different U.K.-based companies, Christian said.

“There’s a really strong supply chain between the United Kingdom, the U.S. and Pennsylvania,” he said.

For example, the U.K. is the fourth-largest export market for companies in Pennsylvania. And with projects like the GSK facility, U.K. companies are the largest foreign investors in the commonwealth.

Pennsylvania companies, in turn, are investing in U.K. communities.

In March, Malvern-based Vishay Intertechnology announced it would invest $337 million in the U.K.’s largest semiconductor plant, known as the Newport Wafer Fab. The company is helping boost the U.K.’s electric vehicle market.

In April, Philadelphia-based Comcast announced its intent to build a massive Universal theme park and 500-room resort just outside of London.

As for whether the tariff situation has spooked investors, Christian said that when there are changes on a global scale, “there is always the opportunity for someone to be concerned,” but he’s confident that the recent trade deal removed some uncertainty for businesses in both countries.