Chancellor says UK not planning retaliatory tariffs on US ‘at the moment’
Rachel Reeves has said that the UK is not planning retaliatory tariffs on the US, at least for now, after Donald Trump announced a 25% tariff on all car imports, sending shares in carmakers sharply lower.
“We are not at the moment in a position where we want to do anything to escalate these trade wars,” the UK chancellor told Sky News when asked if Britain would impose retaliatory tariffs against the US. “Trade wars are no good for anyone.”
She said an escalation of tariffs would be bad for Britain “but it would be bad for the US as well, and that’s why we are working intensely these next few days to try to secure a good deal for Britain”, Reeves said in an interview with the BBC. “We don’t want to get into a trade war.”
Trump said in the Oval Office that the tariffs “start off with a 2.5% base, which is what we’re at, and go to 25%”.
The new levies on cars and light trucks will take effect on 3 April, a day after Trump plans to announce reciprocal tariffs aimed at the countries responsible for the bulk of the US trade deficit.
Shares in US carmakers fell in after-hours trading after Trump’s announcement, with General Motors down by 6.2%, while Ford lost 4.7%.
Aston Martin was the top faller on the FTSE 100 index in London on Thursday morning, with the shares falling 6% to hit a record low of 67p. The FTSE 100 fell more than 50 points in early trading.
