Donald Trump has threatened to use tariffs in a “much more powerful and obnoxious way”, as the UK and EU seek clarity on trade deals agreed last summer. The US president’s comments follow a Supreme Court ruling that he had overstepped his legal authority to impose “liberation day” measures, but which also upheld other tariffs.
Downing Street said it did not expect Trump’s new 15% global tariff, announced on Saturday, to affect the majority of the UK-US economic deal agreed last year. However, confusion remains over whether the new tariffs, collected from Tuesday, will be at the 10% rate agreed last May, the 15% rate, or default to pre-reciprocal day tariffs.
Asked about retaliatory tariffs, the Prime Minister’s spokesperson said: “No one wants to see a trade war… nothing is off the table at this stage.” The EU has paused ratification of its deal with the US for the second time in a month, demanding “full clarity” on the new developments.
Trump posted on Truth Social that any country “playing games” would face higher tariffs. US stocks fell on Monday, with the Dow Jones down 1.6%. Meanwhile, the British Chambers of Commerce warned that an additional 5% tariff could increase levies on UK exports by £2-3 billion, urging the government to seek immediate talks with Congress.
