BRITAIN’S 10 per cent tariff hit is causing mixed feelings in the upper echelons of government today.
Yes, it was the and far below that imposed on many other countries.
But it will still hurt the UK economy, whack our exporters and likely cost scores of jobs.
And what of this charm offensive Sir Keir Starmer has attempted to get in the US President’s good books?
It comes as…
- Donald Trumpon all nations on Wednesday
- The president said he would slap levies on major trade partners with universal 10% ‘baseline'
- Specific rates will apply to ‘worst offenders'
- The UK faces the minimum tariff rate at 10%
- The EU, meanwhile, faces a 20 per cent hit on border tax
- 25 per cent tariffs will be slapped on all foreign-made automobiles from midnight ET
Downing Street was quick to trumpet this approach – and the refusal to retaliate – as “vindication”; we have escaped lightly from the tariff blizzard.
Yet many other countries have also been given the 10 per cent levy, including Brazil which has put in far less legwork with the White House than our government.
Ministers will be desperate now to sign this fabled economic deal in the hope it will do away with tariffs entirely.
One thing is undeniable: being outside the European Union has spared us being doubly worse off.
The 20 per cent tariff slung around the Brussels bloc would have been our fate should Brexit had not happened.
EU chief Ursula Von der Leyen has vowed to retaliate – which would have dragged us into a trade war with our closest ally if we were still a member.
It’s not a pretty situation, but t could be a whole lot worse...
