An expert has warned that Donald Trump could soon find himself on the receiving end of one of the UK’s most influential assets – the Royal Family – after the US President launched a global trade war
Donald Trump might find himself charmed by Britain’s ‘apex weapon’ after the 47th President instigated a worldwide trade war, an expert has claimed.
Dr Martin Farr, a senior lecturer in contemporary British history at Newcastle University, hinted that the US could soon be facing the formidable influence of the UK’s Royal Family.
He commented that the Royal Family, often seen as one of the UK’s trump cards, could be a strategic asset used by the nation in response to Trump’s contentious move to shake up economic alliances, marking the greatest disruption to trade patterns in a century.
Despite the Royals having lent their charm to political figures like Sir Keir Starmer recently, Dr Farr warned that their allure might not suffice to deter President Trump from damaging UK interests in the long run.
Speaking to The i, Dr Farr described: “The Royal Family are the big guns. They are the apex weapon, the soft power weapon, in UK statecraft.
“It could have a positive impact – but it’s hard to know how much. They could still screw us on trade, even if there is a wonderful state visit and Trump says nice things about the King.”
Some believe it was King Charles’s appeal and the offer of a second official state visit that helped shield Britain from some of the harshest consequences of Trump’s combative stance; this combined with the fact that Britain boasts a trade surplus, rather than deficit, with the US, reports the Express.
However, Trump’s decision to proceed with a 10 percent tariff and a 25 percent on all car parts has sparked another surge of anti-Trump sentiment in Britain. There are not only calls for a boycott on American goods and services but also demands for retaliatory tariffs and the cancellation of his second state visit.
The rationale behind the latter two suggestions is based on the notion put forward by commentators that Britain should not roll out the red carpet for a country that some argue is no longer an ally. When questioned whether Trump’s tariffs would affect his upcoming state visit, the Prime Minister’s official spokesperson insisted there was no connection.
They told LBC: “I wouldn’t draw any link between the two. Obviously, the state visit is a matter for the Palace, as you know. You’ll have seen that the Prime Minister was delighted to extend His Majesty the King’s invitation for a historic state visit during his visit to the White House. But when it comes to these talks, we’ll obviously continue to have these conversations.”
While Labour may be cautiously avoiding further damage from Trump to the UK, critics such as Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey have been more vocal.
During Prime Minister’s Questions earlier in the week, he urged the UK to join forces with the likes of Europe and Canada, who have not shown antagonism in recent times. He challenged Sir Keir by saying: “One of the options must be to work with our European allies, our Commonwealth allies and others. Because if we don’t tackle Trump’s tariffs, we could be saying goodbye to free trade for a generation.”
Sir Ed’s foreign affairs spokesperson, Calum Miller, also weighed in on the strategy to navigate the trade tensions: “We need to end this trade war as quickly as possible. That means working with our Canadian and European allies in a united front against Trump, including retaliatory tariffs where necessary.”
While Sir Ed might not sway Sir Keir’s stance towards Trump—a position that is thought to have shielded the UK from harsher tariffs—there’s ongoing debate about whether the deployment of the UK’s most distinguished asset will suffice.
