Chancellor Rachel Reeves has withdrawn from a planned appearance at the London Stock Exchange, where she was to celebrate a 'new golden age' for the City, following Donald Trump's threat to impose tariffs on the UK and other European countries over Greenland. The Treasury confirmed she would not attend the event, which was designed to mark the FTSE 100 surpassing 10,000 points for the first time.
Reeves instead joined Prime Minister Keir Starmer at a Downing Street press conference on Monday morning. Starmer stated that the dispute with the US over Greenland must be resolved through 'calm discussion between allies'. The event at the exchange went ahead without her, led by LSE chief executive Julia Hoggett, with ticker tape showering the financial hub as markets opened.
On Saturday, Trump threatened a 25% tariff on eight European countries—Denmark, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Finland, Sweden, Norway, and the UK—until the US is allowed to purchase Greenland. He said he would impose a 10% tariff from 1 February, rising to 25% from 1 June, on all goods from those nations.
Markets reacted negatively on Monday. The FTSE 100 fell 0.4%, while France's CAC 40 dropped 1.6%, Germany's DAX fell 1.4%, and Spain's IBEX 35 declined nearly 1% in early trading. Analysts at Deutsche Bank noted that while tariff threats are real and could be economically damaging, previous threats on 'liberation day' were later softened. US markets were closed for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
