UK manufacturing Call for US agreement to avoid job cuts

Britain's manufacturers will start cutting jobs "within weeks" unless the government can strike a deal to safeguard the UK economy from Donald Trump's trade war, industry leaders have told MPs.

- Jillian Ambrose

Senior executives from the UK's automotive, manufacturing and energy sectors warned a committee of MPs to expect job losses this summer if Washington moves ahead with the swathe of global trade tariffs that were set out by the US president earlier this month.

The stark warning has emerged as the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, travels to the US to hold her first in-person meeting with her American counterpart, Scott Bessent, about striking a new trade agreement to soften the blow of Trump's looming trade war.

Otherwise, the UK government may need to put in place a Covid-style furlough scheme to cover the wages of those likely to lose their jobs this summer, the industry figures said.