Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has played down the prospect of retaliatory tariffs on the United States, after President Donald Trump threatened to impose fresh levies on Nato allies if a deal over Greenland is not reached. Speaking at an emergency press conference on Monday, Starmer said US tariffs would damage the British economy and were “in no one’s interests”, despite growing domestic pressure for a more forceful response.
Starmer said he wanted to avoid a tariff war, which he warned would hit businesses, workers and families across the country. “Threatening tariffs on allies is the wrong thing to do, completely wrong,” he told reporters. “A tariff war isn’t in anybody’s interests.” He added that the UK would prefer a “calm discussion” with allies to resolve the row.
However, Downing Street sources suggested Starmer was not yet ruling out tariffs completely and would assess the situation as it developed. The UK government is preparing for the possibility of a taxpayer-funded support package to shield British businesses if the US pushes ahead with its threats next month.
Business Secretary Peter Kyle told Channel 4 News he had already spoken to Jaguar Land Rover about the tariff threats, saying he was “always open to conversation about how we can support them”. Trump has shown no sign of backing down from his weekend threat to hit the UK and seven other European countries with a 10% levy on goods exports from 1 February, rising to 25% by June.
Starmer defended his diplomatic approach, saying alliances “endure because they’re built on respect and partnership, not pressure”. He acknowledged he understood why Britons might see attempts to cooperate with Trump as pointless, but stressed the vital importance of US cooperation on intelligence, the nuclear deterrent and Ukraine. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper told MPs the threat of tariffs against allies was “completely wrong”, “unwarranted” and “counter-productive”.
