The UK is expecting to be hit by Donald Trump’s tariffs this week, Downing Street has said, despite efforts to get an exemption before so-called ‘Liberation Day’
The UK is expecting to be hit by Donald Trump’s tariffs this week, Downing Street has said, despite efforts to get an exemption.
The government has been scrambling to secure a deal with the American administration for an exemption from painful tariffs due to come in on Wednesday – dubbed ‘Liberation Day’ by the US president. But No10 today acknowledged the UK is unlikely to be spared.
Mr Trump has announced a 25% import tax will be introduced on all cars imported to the US, a measure expected to hit British luxury car makers such as Rolls-Royce and Aston Martin. The levy is on top of a series of tariffs set to come into effect on Wednesday, which could include a general 20% tax on UK products in response to the rate of VAT.
No10 said ministers were still trying to negotiate a deal but admitted talks were likely to continue after Wednesday. So far, Keir Starmer has resisted imposing retaliatory tariffs, with the US having already slapped tariffs on steel and aluminium imports earlier this month. But the PM has not ruled out retaliatory action to the latest action and is facing calls to slap tariffs on US cars, including Elon Musk’s Teslas.
READ MORE: UK responds to Donald Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariff threat – ‘no option off the table’
Mr Starmer’s official spokesman said on Monday: “When it comes to tariffs the Prime Minister has been clear he will always act in the national interest and we’ve been actively preparing for all eventualities ahead of the expected announcements from President Trump this week, which we would expect the UK to be impacted by alongside other countries.
“Our trade teams are continuing to have constructive discussions to agree a UK-US economic prosperity deal. But we will only do a deal which reflects this Government’s mandate to deliver economic stability for the British people, and we will only act in the national interest.”
Asked whether the Government had given up hope of a deal being signed before Wednesday, the spokesman said he is “not going to put a time frame on those discussions” but that they are “likely to continue beyond Wednesday”. He said that the UK will “take a calm and pragmatic approach in our response”.
READ MORE: Keir Starmer says he ‘reserves the right’ to retaliate against Donald Trump’s tariffs
Mr Starmer and Mr Trump discussed the “productive negotiations” the two nations have had towards an economic deal in a phone call on Sunday. According to a Downing Street read out of the call, the two leaders agreed that “talks will continue at pace this week”.
Mr Trump has branded April 2 “Liberation Day” for the US, as he claimed the tariffs he plans to introduce will free the US from foreign goods and boost its domestic economy. The new taxes could make or break the Government’s plans to grow the economy, and they come into force just after Rachel Reeves made a series of cuts at the spring statement in order to restore a narrow buffer in the public spending headroom.
Asked whether the Government would be considering another budget in the event of being hit by tariffs, the spokesman said: The UK will “reserve the right” to respond to tariffs “in a way that does protect British industry”, Downing Street has said.
Asked whether the Government would be considering another budget if the UK is hit by tariffs from Donald Trump, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “We’ll obviously always take an approach that suits the British economy. We’ll have a budget in the autumn, and the OBR will obviously update the forecast at that point.” He also said that the UK will “reserve the right to respond in a way that does protect British industry”.
Liberal Democrats leader Sir Ed Davey said that Number 10 expecting tariffs will be “deeply worrying” to people. Sir Ed said: “Ministers have rightly tried to avoid Donald Trump imposing his destructive tariffs on British businesses – but as we knew all along, Trump doesn’t care.
“Just asking nicely clearly doesn’t work with Trump, so we have to stand tall with our allies in Canada and Europe and show that we will not be bullied. That means being prepared to impose reciprocal tariffs if necessary, including on Elon Musk’s Teslas, and urgently negotiating a better trade deal with the EU to show Trump we have alternatives.”
READ MORE: Join our Mirror politics WhatsApp group to get the latest updates from Westminster
