Starmer urged to match EU stance on Trump's tariffs

Sir Keir Starmer has said “all options are on the table” as Britain plans its response to Donald Trump imposing global tariffs on steel and aluminium.

- MILLIE COOKE DAVID MADDOX ARCHIE MITCHELL

While the European Union has already announced it will introduce counter-measures on American goods, the UK has resisted imposing immediate retaliatory action against the move. But while the prime minister suggested Britain wants to seek a carve-out from the tariffs without engaging in a tit-for-tat trade war with the US, Sir Keir indicated retaliatory tariffs are being considered.

The prospect of the UK needing to impose its own tariffs was raised after The Independent was told by Trump administration insiders that hopes for a rapid trade deal will depend on Sir Keir agreeing to cancel plans for online safety legislation – likely to be a compromise too far for the prime minister.

At Prime Minister’s Questions, Sir Keir said: “I’m disappointed to see global tariffs in relation to steel and aluminium. We will take a pragmatic approach.” The UK is “negotiating an economic deal which covers and will include tariffs if we succeed,” he told MPs. “But we will keep all options on the table.”

It came after business secretary Jonathan Reynolds warned Britain “won’t hesitate to respond in the national interest” to the trade penalties. The tariffs, which came into effect yesterday, raise a flat duty on steel and aluminium entering America to 25 per cent.

The UK being subjected to a round of global tariffs by Mr Trump is a blow to Sir Keir and his new ambassador to the US, Peter Mandelson. At the press conference after their meeting in the White House last month, the US president praised the prime minister for “negotiating hard” on avoiding tariffs, while Lord Mandelson made preventing tariffs an early priority in his new role.