Starmer's Trump issue isn't EU but cosving up to China

US president can take a Brexit reset but the PM’s decision to get closer to Beijing is setting off alarm bells in Washington

- DAVID MADDOX

An alien with no preconceptions dropped into Washington DC for the party atmosphere among Maga Republican Trump supporters during the inauguration may initially have thought that all was positive with their view of China.

After all, every bit of Trump memorabilia on sale – T-shirts, hoodies, hats, keyrings, golden chains, towels, shoes and so much more – had “made in China” emblazoned on it. But it did not take much to see that the angry rhetoric of Trump and his closest supporters against the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and president Xi Jinping was going to amount to much more than mere words.

And, sure enough, China has become the primary target for an actual trade war, with Trump’s tariff regimes. While Mexico, Canada, Japan, Panama and Colombia have all been threatened too, these have all been linked to strategic geopolitical objectives and subsequently delayed or cancelled.

It is against this backdrop that Keir Starmer’s tightrope walk in dealing with Trump must see relations with China as the biggest danger and where the biggest danger of the UK being hit with tariffs lies rather than through a Brexit reset.

Why the EU is not Starmer’s problem

It is true that Trump has made it clear he intends to impose tariffs on the EU and these are likely to be met with tariffs from Europe. But there is a difference in the White House’s view of the EU and China.

Trump’s view of the EU is influenced by people like Nigel Farage and it is also true to say that the so-called Brexit spirit helped propel him to an unlikely victory in 2016 against Hillary Clinton.