Politics

JUST IN: UK Will Admit Trump’s Tariffs Are ‘Understandable’ In Major Trade Deal Breakthrough

Published

7 days ago

April 5, 2025

U.K. Prime Minister Kier Starmer is expected to announce that globalism has “failed” before ordering a full economic reset, according to a report from The Times Of London. Starmer is also expected

In his first major announcement since the White House placed sweeping tariffs on imports from dozens of nations based on existing trade deficits with the United States, Starmer is expected to tell the nation that the seismic shift in global trade proves his government must “move further and faster” to boost growth with supply-side reforms.

Later this week, he is expected to make a number of pro-growth announcements, including easing regulations on electric vehicle manufacturing and updating the government’s industrial strategy. Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, is also set to hold an “economic and financial dialogue” with India on Wednesday.

Negotiations are also underway for a new trade deal with Australia.

In response to President Trump’s bold announcement, Starmer has argued that while he believes tariffs are the “wrong” response, he also “understands Trump’s economic nationalism and why it is popular with voters who believe they have seen no benefits from free trade and mass immigration,” The Times reported.

“Trump has done something that we don’t agree with but there’s a reason why people are behind him on this. The world has changed, globalisation is over and we are now in a new era,” a spokesperson for the prime minister’s office told the outlet. “We’ve got to demonstrate that our approach, a more active Labour government, a more reformist government, can provide the answers for people in every part of this country.”

WASHINGTON – Feb 27, 2025: President Donald Trump and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer hold a joint press conference at the White House.

The prime minister will be spending the weekend at Chequers, his official country residence in Buckinghamshire, where he will be discussing tariff impacts with world leaders. On Saturday, he spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron over the phone in what was described as a productive conversation.

A Downing Street description of the chat said the two world leaders “agreed that a trade war was in nobody’s interests but nothing should be off the table.”

While Starmer is not scheduled to speak with Trump just yet, the two countries are continuing to negotiate on a potential trade deal. Britain has been seeking to work out a new trade deal with the United States since leaving the European Union in 2020, though negotiations had stalled under the previous Conservative Party government.

Starmer met with President Trump at the White House back in February and left feeling “confident” that an agreement could be reached.

Trump seemed to agree, stating that a “great” deal that could help Britain avoid incoming tariffs was on the table. Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds recently visited Washington in order to continue the talks, while Trump and Starmer held another conversation over the phone last week.

The U.K. has described a potential agreement as an “economic prosperity deal,” though Downing Street has conceded that they will not be getting the “free trade” agreement they had hoped to obtain.

“Some type of arrangement that might let the UK escape some tariffs is possible but it would not be a full-scale trade deal,” Jonathan Portes, professor of economics at King’s College London told the Associated Press. “Brexit is a double edged sword — it gives us more flexibility and we can negotiate with a view to our own interests.”

The U.K. has already offered to cut tariffs on imported American beef and fish, according to a report from the Washington Post. Starmer’s government has also floated the possibility of lowering British taxes paid by major American tech companies, a long-stated goal of President Trump’s.