Sir Keir Starmer has warned the world as we knew it has gone after US president Donald Trump slapped sweeping tariffs on dozens of trading partners including the UK.
The prime minister warned that “old assumptions can no longer be taken for granted” and said a world led by Mr Trump was governed more by deals and alliances than established rules.
It comes after the US president put a 10 per cent tariff on all UK goods exports to America, including a 25 per cent tariff on all British carmakers including Jaguar Land Rover.
“Old assumptions can no longer be taken for granted. The world as we knew it has gone. We must rise to meet the moment,” Sir Keir wrote in the Daily Telegraph.
“We are ready for what comes next. The new world is less governed by established rules and more by deals and alliances.”
Jaguar Land Rover said it was suspending shipments to the US while it considers how to mitigate the cost of Mr Trump’s tariffs.
Trump tariffs list in full: Every country hit and the surprising exemptions
Donald Trump has imposed the steepest American tariffs on imports in over a century, levying rates as high as 50 per cent on some countries in a move described by the EU as a “major blow” to the world economy.
The US president shocked global market on Wednesday as he announced minimum tariffs of at least 10 per cent on almost all exporters to the US, with much higher duties for countries that enjoy the largest trade surpluses.
Southeast Asian nations and some of the world’s weakest economies were hardest hit, compounding the effects of the Trump administration’s cuts to the USAID programme in many of those countries.
Read the full story here:
What Ancient Rome can tell us about the fate of Trump’s tariffs
Tariffs are back in the headlines this week, with United States President Donald Trump introducing sweeping new tariffs of at least 10 per cent on a vast range of goods imported to the US. For some countries and goods, the tariffs will be much higher.
Analysts have expressed shock and worry, warning the move could lead to inflation and possibly even recession for the US.
As someone who’s spent years researching the economy of Ancient Rome, it all feels a shade familiar.
Cheese, wine and whiskey: How your shopping basket could be affected by Trump’s tariffs
Tariffs that will make exporting goods to America more costly could hit shopping baskets in the UK as producers around the globe look to recoup the extra costs.
Donald Trump‘s levies mean industries worldwide are scrambling to assess what the impact on them will be and there is no doubt that consumers in the US will see prices there rise as manufacturers pass on those costs to the buyer.
But that in turn means that many might opt out of paying higher prices, while businesses in America might cancel orders coming in from overseas to avoid paying those extra costs. That might mean raising prices elsewhere to reduce their losses.
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‘The US is the biggest loser’: What Independent readers are saying about Trump’s tariffs
Trump’s tariffs in numbers: The biggest losers amid escalating US trade war
World leaders were hit with an escalation in the US trade war as Donald Trump unveiled a swathe of tariffs on imported goods affecting nearly every country.
On so-called “Liberation Day”, the United States president announced that almost all imported goods would be hit with blanket tariffs, in an effort to increase homegrown production and reduce trade imbalances.
Most countries that trade with the US will be subject to a minimum 10 per cent tariff from April 5, including the United Kingdom, with dozens of nations facing levies as high as 50 per cent.
The reciprocal tariffs, which put Chinese goods imports at 54 per cent, will come into effect from 9 April.
Read the full story by The Independent’s data correspondent Alicja Hagopian here:
Starmer and Macron keep ‘all options on the table’ after Trump tariffs
Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron spoke on Saturday and agreed to keep all options on the table as they plot a response to Donald Trump’s universal tariffs.
The prime minister and French president said a trade war would be “in nobody’s interests” but said “nothing should be off the table” in combating the US president’s damaging measures.
The pair also said they had concerns about the global economic and security impact of Mr Trump’s levies, “particularly in South East Asia”.
It comes as Sir Keir remains holed up speaking to world leaders this weekend, seeking to build closer ties with non-US allies as the trade war escalates.
The world as Britain knew it has gone, Starmer warns
Sir Keir Starmer has warned the world as we knew it has gone after US president Donald Trump slapped sweeping tariffs on dozens of trading partners including the UK.
The prime minister warned that “old assumptions can no longer be taken for granted” and said a world led by Mr Trump was governed more by deals and alliances than established rules.
It comes after the US president put a 10 per cent tariff on all UK exports to America, including a 25 per cent tariff on all British carmakers including Jaguar Land Rover.
“Old assumptions can no longer be taken for granted. The world as we knew it has gone. We must rise to meet the moment,” Sir Keir wrote in the Daily Telegraph.
Trump tariffs could cut GDP growth by 0.5%, French PM says
France could see a 0.5 per cent plunge in GDP following US president Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs, French prime minister Francois Bayrou said.
“The imposition of these outrageous tariffs will lead to a global crisis. The risk of job losses is significant, as is that of an economic slowdown,” he told Le Parisien newspaper.
Mr Trump slapped a 20 per cent tariff on all EU exports to the US earlier this week.