How will the UK respond to Donald Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’? After the US President announced a batch of new tariffs yesterday, including a 10 per cent blanket levy on imports from the UK, ministers are discovering the pros and cons of the new normal. Supporters of Keir Starmer have taken comfort that the White House has imposed the lowest rate on the UK.
China faces total effective tariffs of 54 per cent, and the EU will be on levies of 20 per cent. While some around the Prime Minister have suggested that the UK is receiving preferential treatment because of clever diplomacy, others point to the trade deficit and fact that it is outside of the EU.
Yet even a low tariff is a problem. Starmer told business leaders in Downing Street this morning that the tariffs will ‘clearly’ have an economic impact on the UK. It’s not just the imports tariff worrying ministers – an even bigger concern is the overall hit to the global economy from the trade war.
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