Trump's trade war could have a clear winner: The UK
Global markets were hit with fresh volatility this week after U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed plans to impose tariffs on imports from three of America's biggest trading partners.
Trump on Monday agreed to pause for 30 days 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada, after both countries agreed to take steps to clamp down on opioid fentanyl crossing their borders into the United States.
There was no pause for China, however, which faces 10% import tariffs — and has subsequently retaliated with tariffs of up to 15% on American goods.
Further afield, European economies are also at risk from Trump's tariff regime. The U.S. president told reporters on Sunday that tariffs on the EU "will definitely happen" — but said a deal "could be worked out" with the U.K., a nation with which U.S. trade is more balanced.
"The U.K. is out of line. But I'm sure that one, I think, that one can be worked out," Trump told reporters, adding that he was "getting along very well" with the U.K.'s left-leaning Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Starmer told reporters this week that he had discussed trade in talks with Trump, and would not choose sides between the U.S. and the EU, according to The Guardian.
U.K. Finance Minister Rachel Reeves, meanwhile, insisted last month that Britain is "not part of the problem" when it comes to the trade deficits Trump is looking to correct with his tariff policies.
The U.S. was the U.K.'s biggest trading partner in the year to September 2024, according to official data, accounting for over 17% of total U.K. trade.
Depending on which figures you look at, the two countries either have a small trade deficit or surplus. What's important for Trump, though — who hates it when the U.S. exports less to a country than it