Trump warns 'substantial' import tariffs will remain

Donald Trump has warned that substantial” baseline tariffs will remain on goods imported to the US from all countries, in a blow for Rachel Reeves as she heads to Washington next week for trade talks.

- JANE DALTON

The UK is hoping a deal can help stave off the full brunt of the US president’s sweeping 10 per cent tariffs on all goods imported to the US, and The Telegraph has reported that White House officials believe an agreement could be reached “within three weeks”.

But yesterday Mr Trump said that he is in “no rush” to reach any trade deals because of the revenues his tariffs are generating.

“Tariffs are making us rich. We were losing a lot of money under Biden – trillions of dollars, trillions on trade and now, that whole tide has turned,” he said while meeting Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni at the White House.

Mr Trump has claimed that as many as 75 countries have contacted his administration hoping to make trade deals after he hiked tariffs on all nearly countries but Russia, later reducing them all to a baseline 10 per cent.