LONDON: UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said he is prepared to step in with government support to protect the country’s businesses from the impact of new US tariffs, as fears grow over a wider trade dispute.
“We stand ready to use industrial policy to help shelter British business from the storm,” Starmer wrote in The Telegraph newspaper.
“Some people may feel uncomfortable about this – the idea that the state should intervene directly to shape the market has often been derided.
“But we simply cannot cling on to old sentiments when the world is turning this fast.”
While Starmer said the government’s priority remains to try and secure a trade deal with the US which could include tariff exemptions, he stated he will do “everything necessary” to protect the national interest.
Britain was spared the most punitive treatment in Trump’s tariff announcement on Wednesday, being hit with the lowest import duty rate of 10%, but a global trade war will still hurt its open economy.
“This week we will turbocharge plans that will improve our domestic competitiveness, so we’re less exposed to these kinds of global shocks,” he said, adding that the government also wanted to strengthen alliances and reduce barriers to trade.
The Telegraph reported that Starmer’s government could bring in emergency reforms to reduce red tape around regulation and raised the prospect of targeted tax breaks to help affected sectors.
British car maker Jaguar Land Rover said on Saturday it would pause shipments of cars to the US for a month due to the tariffs, adding to fears about the impact on an industry which employs 200,000 people in the UK.
Writing in the newspaper, Starmer reiterated he would take a “cool-headed” approach to the tariffs rather than immediately retaliating, but he added: “All options remain on the table”.
Britain on Wednesday published a 400-page list of US goods it could include in any possible retaliatory tariff response.
