Starmer prepares riposte as 10% tariffs already in force

British firms have been hit by a 10 per cent tariff on all exports to the United States as Donald Trump ushered in a new era for global trade and pledged America “will no longer be ripped off”.

- DAVID MADDOX

The US president said his “liberation day” announcement – in which some nations will pay as much as 34 per cent – was a “declaration of economic independence”.

It means that Sir Keir Starmer’s government has failed to secure a carve-out for Britain from tariffs, but while the UK was 13th on a “naughty list” of nations brandished at a White House press conference, it had the joint lowest tariffs along with nations such as Brazil. They came into force at GMT 0500.

European Union nations face 20 per cent penalties while China will pay 34 per cent and Cambodia an eye-watering 49 per cent. Switzerland was also hit hard with 31 per cent. Taiwan, which is struggling for survival against threats from China, faces 32 per cent and India is getting 26 per cent.

A Downing Street source said: “We don't want any tariffs at all, but a lower levy than others vindicates our approach. It matters because the difference between 10 per cent and 20 per cent is thousands of jobs.

“We will keep negotiating, keep cool and keep calm. We want to negotiate a sustainable trade deal, and of course to get tariffs lowered. Tomorrow we will continue with that work."

After days of build up the US president waited for markets to close to make his big announcement in the Rose Garden of the White House on what he has dubbed “liberation day”.

He was surrounded by his cabinet, members of the Congress, senators, automobile workers and farmers as he promised “to make America wealthy again”.