Keir Starmer says UK 'preparing for all eventualities' as Trump's tarffis loom

The Prime Minister said the UK is “preparing for all eventualities” ahead of confirmation of Donald Trump’s US tariffs.

Keir Starmer faced questions about the escalating trade war with the US at Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday – just hours before Trump is expected to unveil a new round of US trade tariffs.

He was adamant that the UK will take a “cool-headed” approach to any tariffs imposed on UK goods, and insisted that a trade war is in no one’s interest.

“We’re taking a calm, pragmatic approach and keeping our feet on the ground,” Starmer said.

“There are constructive talks ongoing for a wider economic deal with the US, we are working with all sectors likely to be impacted, and we’re guided by our national interests at all times.

“That’s why we’ve said we won’t rule anything out, but it is important at a moment like this that we don’t have knee-jerk reactions and that we are cool-headed about this.”

Trump is expected to slap import taxes on goods going to the US from around the world in a White House statement at 9pm.

As part of what Trump is calling “Liberation Day”, the President is expected to announce a set of sweeping tariffs that could hit every product imported to the US from every country around the world.

They have the potential to derail the UK Government’s hopes for economic growth.

Although the US-UK trade talks have been ongoing, Starmer has so far failed to secure a deal for Britain, and on Monday, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said the discussions could likely continue beyond the US deadline.

In an effort to strike a favourable trade deal, the UK Government even dropped the digital services tax on US web giants like Google and Facebook to try and win Trump over.

Northern Irish MP Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party) criticised this as the “wrong approach” at PMQs on Wednesday.

“Would the Prime Minister agree that at a time when big tech has grown fat by corrupting our politics and preying on young people, the wrong approach would be to pander to [Trump’s] bullying tactics and to tech millionaires by cutting digital services tax? Can the Prime Minister assure the public that the poorest won’t get cuts while the richest get a free ride?” Hanna asked.

In response, Starmer repeated that he will always put British national interest first and that a trade war is in “nobody’s interest.”

The car industry has already learned its fate, with a 25% tariff on vehicles sent to the US – something which could cost an estimated 25,000 jobs in the UK.

Liberal-Democrat leader Ed Davey sincerely hoped Starmer could still cut a favourable deal for the UK, but he feared it might not be good enough to “prevent a growing trade war”.

“If we don’t tackle Trump’s tariffs, we could be saying goodbye to free trade for a generation,” Davey warned.

Starmer reiterated that the UK’s “first response cannot be to jump straight into a trade war with the US”.

Economists at the Office for Budget Responsibility have warned that US tariffs could eliminate chancellor Rachel Reeves’s “headroom” against her day-to-day spending plans, requiring her to make more cuts or hike taxes to meet the rules she has set herself.

The tariffs could knock up to 1% off the size of the UK economy if there is a full-blown trade war with the UK retaliating to Trump’s measures.