UK best placed country in world to strike deal to dodge Trump tariffs, business secretary claims: Live

The Business Secretary has insisted that if any country is able to reach an agreement with the US to avoid tariffs, it will be the UK.

Jonathan Reynolds told Times Radio: “I believe from where we are at the minute, the President wants this Liberation Day tomorrow to apply to every country in the world and there’ll be no exemptions on that first day towards that.

“If any country is able to reach an agreement with the US, I don’t believe there’s a country better placed than the UK because of the work that we have been doing.

“But the US aspiration …. what they’re trying to achieve with this day tomorrow has jumped around with different objectives at different times.

“But if the US can reach an agreement with anyone, I believe it can with the UK.”

Global stock markets have found some respite after tumbling on Monday amid concerns over Donald Trump’s trade war.

Asian shares were mostly higher on Tuesday, as Wall Street made some overnight gains after a turbulent day.

Investors are nervously awaiting Wednesday, a day Trump has dubbed “Liberation Day”, when he has promised to unveil a massive reciprocal tariff plan.

The Business Secretary has rejected the suggestion a deal with the US to avoid tariffs is done but not signed.

“I wouldn’t say it’s done but we have been, as you’ve said, closely engaged with the US, intensively, because we believe that a deal is in the national interest,” Jonathan Reynolds told Times Radio.

He said he believed there would be “no exemptions” for any country to Donald Trump’s “liberation day” tariffs due to be unveiled on Wednesday but added that what the US is trying to achieve has “jumped around” at different times.

Opposition leaders have urged Starmer to push back against the Donald Trump tariff’s, as they criticised the government’s response.

Tory shadow trade secretary Andrew Griffith said: “This news is potentially a hammer blow not just to British businesses and workers but to (the Prime Minister’s) own chancellor whose creative accounting at the emergency budget fails to include the impact of tariffs.

“This is just further proof that, when Labour negotiates, Britain loses.”

Liberal Democrats leader Sir Ed Davey said the UK should be prepared to hit back at Donald Trump’s tariffs.

Sir Ed said: “Ministers have rightly tried to avoid Donald Trump imposing his destructive tariffs on British businesses – but as we knew all along, Trump doesn’t care.

“Just asking nicely clearly doesn’t work with Trump, so we have to stand tall with our allies in Canada and Europe and show that we will not be bullied.

“That means being prepared to impose reciprocal tariffs if necessary, including on Elon Musk’s Teslas, and urgently negotiating a better trade deal with the EU to show Trump we have alternatives.”

The assessment from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) helps explain why so far, unlike other economies such as the European Union, Sir Keir Starmer’s government has refrained from retaliating against Donald Trump’s tariff.

The prime minister’s spokesperson said: “You’ve got the OBR’s modelling and we’ve said previously a trade war with the US is clearly not in anybody’s interests.”

We continue to have constructive discussions on agreeing a deal with the US, but at the same time, we’ve also been clear that all options are on the table, we obviously reserve our right to respond, to protect our protect our industries.

“But we want to take a calm and pragmatic approach to this.

“I think British industry has also been clear that they want to see the government having a dialogue with the United States and that’s what we’re going to continue to do and seek to achieve.”

The new tariffs could derail the government’s plans to grow the economy as they come into force just after chancellor Rachel Reeves made a series of cuts at the spring statement in order to restore a narrow buffer in the public spending headroom.

Losses deepened for the UK’s FTSE 100 stock exchange, which was trading around 1.3 per cent lower during Monday.

European stocks are also still seeing sharp falls, and US markets have opened lower with the S&P 500 down about 1.4 per cent in early trading.

The budget watchdog has warned that a full-blown trade war, in which the UK responds in kind to Mr Trump’s tariffs, could knock one per cent off gross domestic product, a measure of the size of the economy, and wipe out Ms Reeves’ headroom.

As Britain braces for Donald Trump’s tariffs, the prime minister’s official spokesman said: “When it comes to tariffs the prime minister has been clear he will always act in the national interest and we’ve been actively preparing for all eventualities ahead of the expected announcements from President Trump this week, which we would expect the UK to be impacted by alongside other countries.”

Our trade teams are continuing to have constructive discussions to agree a UK-US economic prosperity deal.

“But we will only do a deal which reflects this government’s mandate to deliver economic stability for the British people, and we will only act in the national interest.”

Asked whether the government had given up hope of a UK-US deal being signed before the tariffs are announced, the spokesman said he is “not going to put a time frame on those discussions” but that they are “likely to continue beyond Wednesday”.

Mr Trump believes tariffs will protect US businesses from unfair competition from foreign rivals.

British firms look set to be hit by Donald Trump’s tariffs after Downing Street acknowledged the UK was unlikely to be spared.

The US president is set to unveil sweeping import taxes on goods from countries around the world on Wednesday, an event Mr Trump has dubbed “liberation day”.

Sir Keir Starmer’s government has been trying to negotiate an economic deal with the US, which it is hoped could protect UK businesses from the worst impacts of Mr Trump’s plans.

But that will not be in place before tomorrow and trade talks alone are unlikely to be enough to exempt the UK from the president’s desire to impose tariffs on imports to the US from around the world.

Mr Trump has already announced a 25 per cent import tax will be introduced on all cars imported to the US, a measure which will be a blow to the UK’s automotive industry.

Some 16.9 per cent of UK car exports were to the US last year, representing a total of more than 101,000 units worth £7.6bn.

The levy is on top of a series of tariffs set to come into effect on 2 April, which could include a general 20 per cent tax on UK products in response to the rate of Vat, which Mr Trump deems to be discriminatory against the US.

Angela Rayner insisted a rise to the national living wage coming into effect on today will give workers “more money in their pockets” as households brace for April’s council tax and energy bill hikes.

Those eligible aged 21 and over will get a 6.7 per cent pay increase, from £11.44 to £12.21 per hour, while 18 to 20-year-olds will receive an uplift of £1.40, from £8.60 to £10 per hour, under the changes.

However, the rise, announced in chancellor Rachel Reeves’ budget, coincides with increases to council tax, employer national insurance contributions (NICs) and fuel costs for millions of households across the country.

The Independent’s associate editor Sean O’Grady examines the prime minister’s latest plans to tackle irregular migration, and asks what might come next in what is an increasingly toxic debate.