Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has been warned that Britain faces “grim economic times” if Donald Trump imposes tariffs, ahead of his meeting with the US President on Thursday.
Taking aim at Europe during a press conference on Wednesday, Trump reaffirmed his plans to slap a 25 per cent tariff on imported goods from the EU, claiming that it was formed “in order to screw the US”.
Speaking to reporters, Trump stated: “We have made a decision, we’ll be announcing it very soon. It will be 25 per cent generally speaking, and that all be on cars and all other things.
“We have about a 300 billion dollar deficit with the EU. They don’t accept our cars, they don’t accept essentially our farm products, they use all sorts of reasons why not, and we accept everything from them.”
Keir Starmer has been warned ahead of his key meeting with Donald Trump
PA / Reuters
Amid the threat of imposing tariffs, Starmer has been warned by political commentator Nigel Nelson that Britain could very well be included in the sanctions, despite Labour’s desire to strengthen ties with the US.
Nelson told GB News: “Trump comes across as a complete phenomenon – that doesn’t mean he’s right, and it doesn’t matter what he says – it’s kind of the tone that comes across.
“My main takeaway from the press conference was that he seems to be determined to put tariffs on European goods.”
Detailing the potential impact for the UK if Trump chooses to impose similar tariffs, Nelson added: “He doesn’t care about how many goods, it could be the entire lot.
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Donald Trump introduced his cabinet to the press ahead of his meeting with the Prime Minister on Thursday
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“If we retaliate against him, he says America will go cold turkey and things like that. If he carries those things out – and there’s always a big issue with Trump about whether or not he actually means what he says.
“But if he carries it out, we’re looking at looking at really grim economic times if Britain is included.”
Delivering his verdict on Trump’s new cabinet, including DOGE chief Elon Musk, Nelson told host Martin Daubney: “I’ve no doubt about any of those people that they do mean business, and the most important thing, they will put America first.
“The trouble about all this is it’s very dangerous. It’s fine if Trump gets his way and people go along with it, but at the moment, Trump keeps getting his way.”
Nelson told GB News that Donald Trump is ‘determined to tariff Europe’
GB News
Agreeing with Nelson, Martin offered his view on Trump’s appointed cabinet and claimed that they appeared as a “room full of action men and women” during the press conference.
Martin concluded: “They know they have the economic power, they have the military power, they have the political leverage. No matter what you think about Donald Trump, he is a political phenomenon.
“And the people in that room, as Elon Musk said, I’ve worked in business and he’s a multi-billionaire and the world’s richest man – he said, this is the best team of people I have ever worked with.”
He added: “And we heard from a few of them one by one – no matter where you stand politically, this is a room full of action men and action women, and they mean business. They want to get stuff done and they’re going to put America first.”