Trump's 'Liberation Day' could cost UK 25,000 jobs

Britain braces as US tariffs set to deliver global shock

- DAVID MADDOX KATE DEVLIN

Britain “must prepare for the worst” from new import tariffs, the foreign secretary David Lammy said yesterday as the world awaits the start of Donald Trump’s trade war.

The US president has threatened to impose fees of 20 per cent or more on imports from around the world with immediate effect in measures expected to be announced today – which he has dubbed “Liberation Day”.

Global market jitters continued over the potential impact of a trade war, as one study estimated it could cost the world £1.1 trillion. In Britain alone, 25,000 jobs are at risk according to the Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR), which said the new White House trade policy would “completely destabilise the UK car manufacturing industry”.

Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs analysts expected Britain’s GDP to suffer a greater hit than previously feared even if a UK trade deal were agreed, due to “larger negative spillovers” from tariffs levied against the European Union. As a result, the bank now expects 0.8 per cent of UK growth this year and 1.2 per cent in 2026 – down from 0.9 and 1.3 respectively.