'Everything was going so bloody well up to about 3 months ago'- Branson on Trump's tariffs
Speaking to the media at a press event for his airline, Virgin Atlantic, at London’s Heathrow Airport on April 23, 2025, Branson lamented that Trump’s tariff policies upended what had otherwise been a strong global economy.
“It’s just such a pity, because everything was going so bloody well up to about three months ago,” he said.
According to Fortune, Branson’s own company, the Virgin Group, saw its own businesses directly affected by the tariffs.
Virgin Group operates an array of businesses, some of which are particularly vulnerable to Trump’s tariffs and the ensuing economic downturn. For example, Virgin’s airline, health clubs, and cruises were “full” prior to the tariffs; now, business is just “okay,” according to Branson.
The Virgin Islands is one of the ports of call for Virgin Voyages cruises.
“If he continues, he’s in such danger of doing so much damage in the world,” Branson said.
Inflation risk
Trump’s announcement of the tariff policy on April 2 immediately sent the global market into a tailspin. Equities across the world plummeted. In the US, virtually no corner of the economy was spared: Stock and bond prices fell, and the dollar weakened, plunging to a three-year low. Branson warned there was still more to come in the U.S.
“Inflation hasn’t started kicking in in America,” he said. “It will once these tariffs start kicking in.”
Tariffs are widely seen as inflationary because they raise the prices for importers, who then often pass those costs on to consumers. That expected inflation hasn’t yet been recorded in official economic data, but the threat of it has influenced the decision-making of key leaders in the corporate world and at the Federal Reserve.
The Virgin Islands uses the US Dollar as its currency and is a major importer of goods from the US.
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