Britain won’t respond to Trump’s brutal  tariffs with ‘knee-jerk’ reaction, Keir vows – as UK economy flat lines

BRITAIN will not respond to Donald Trump’s punishing tariffs this week with “knee jerk”; reaction, Sir Keir Starmer says.

The Prime Minister insisted that he could still push ahead with retaliatory tariffs but doesn’t want the UK embroiled in a trade war.

Negotiators have been trying to obtain a carve-out from the US-billed “liberation day”; tariffs that are set to kick in from Thursday morning.

But Downing Street have conceded that an economic deal is unlikely to be struck before the deadline – but talks will continue.

Sir Keir said: “The likelihood is there will be tariffs. Nobody welcomes that.

“We are obviously working with the sectors most impacted at pace on that. Nobody wants to see a trade war but I have to act in the national interests.”;

The pending tariff war comes as growth figures from last week show the economy is flat-lining.

There was zero growth between July and September and only 0.1 per cent growth between October to December.

Sir Keir added that business want a “calm and collected response to this, not a knee-jerk”;.

His intervention comes after he spoke to Trump on Sunday night but no agreement could be struck.

He told Sky News: “We are of course negotiating an economic deal which will, I hope... mitigate the tariffs.”;

When asked if he had been played by Trump, he said: “The US is our closest ally.

“Our defence, our security, our intelligence are bound up in a way that no two other countries are.

“So it’s obviously in our national interest to have a close working relationship with the US, which we’ve had for decades, and I want to ensure we have for decades to come.”;

He said talks on a deal would normally take “months or years”; but “in a matter of weeks we have got well advanced in those discussions”;.

Trump has said that there will be an eye-watering 25 per cent import tax on cars heading to the US in a blow to the UK.

Nearly one in five, some 17 per cent, of all car exports were sent to the UK as part of a £7 billion industry.

There could also be a general 20% tax on UK products in response to the rate of VAT which the President sees as discriminatory against the US.

The tariffs could be a bitter blow to the Treasury as the independent watchdog said the levies could wipe out the £9.9 billion headroom built up by Chancellor Rachel Reeves.