The UK will be hit with a 10% US tariff from tomorrow morning, after the Trump administration finalised sweeping new duties on dozens of trading partners. Britain is among 17 allies, alongside Canada, the EU and Mexico, placed in the lower 10% band, while 43 countries including Japan, China and Australia face a higher 12.5% rate. Small mercies…
The duties follow a five-month US investigation into how trading partners tackle forced labour in their supply chains, and take effect as the previous global 10% tariff expires. The UK government is playing it cool so far:
“There is no negative change to the tariff rate facing UK businesses as a result of this announcement. Our agreement with the US remains in place, and today we see an improvement to our trading terms with zero tariffs on whisky and medical technology.
“We take forced labour very seriously to ensure that in global supply chains UK businesses are not complicit. The US has recognised the steps the UK is taking, which is why there are no additional tariffs for the UK under this announcement.”
Keen not to rock the boat…
Tom Baldwin, author of Starmer’s hagiography, spoke to Times Radio:
Tom Baldwin: “I think he’d like to do something. He’s very dutiful and driven by service. That’s why he came into politics. I think that’s characterised his time as prime minister. He hasn’t always sought popularity or been good at being popular. But I think he has some of the necessary qualities that we actually do want in a prime minister. That resilience, that relentlessness, that ability to carry the weight and the job really does weigh very heavily on people and he carries that weight very, very well.”
Jo Coburn: “NATO Secretary-General?”
Tom Baldwin: “I think that’s something that he would be interested in. I think it probably requires Andy Burnham’s government to support him in that and these are some of the questions which Andy Burnham has to resolve quite quickly.”