Don't sell out British kids as tariff bargaining chip

WILL KEIR STARMER'S government sell out the safety of UK teens in a deal to mitigate Donald Trump's tariff apocalypse?

- Bloomberg

That's the question parents' groups are asking as the UK, along with every other country, searches for ways to persuade Washington to dial down its new aggressive tariff regime and avert a full-scale trade war.

Saddled with "only" the 10% baseline charge, Britain got off lighter than many, including its recent partners in the European Union, which must now cough up 20% levies on exports. But it's still about to take a catastrophic hit — the UK economy is, of course, exposed to a general global downturn, and will feel the pinch of the additional US tariffs on its car and steel sectors. More concerning, Britain's finances are in such a dire state that the Office for Budget Responsibility has warned the wafer-thin headroom Chancellor Rachel Reeves set aside to avoid breaching her fiscal rules will be blown out of the water by Trump's tariffs.