US-UK trade deal or tariff cut will not be enough to protect Britain’s economy, Sir Keir Starmer warns

A US-UK trade deal or tariff cut will not be enough to protect Britain’s economy, Sir Keir Starmer warned yesterday.

The PM said closer trade co-ordination with Europe, as with defence, was necessary to help weather global uncertainty.

Getty

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has warned a US-UK trade deal or tariff cut will not be enough to protect Britain’s economy[/caption]

PA

Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the UK was ‘accelerating trade deals with the rest of the world’[/caption]

He said: “It’s a changing world, we’ve got to step up and act differently.”

Sir Keir said talks were ongoing with the US to try to cut its import tax on British goods — lower than most at ten per cent.

Yesterday, Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the UK was “accelerating trade deals with the rest of the world” before a meeting with her Indian counterpart in London.

Talk of a US deal sparked concern over what the UK may have to give up to reach an agreement.

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said the Government must focus on “mutual gain”.

She said: “My worry is that he can sign a trade deal that just gets us back to where we were last week.

“What we actually need is a trade deal that is going to be for the future, not the past.”

Backing British industry, she added: “I think we should always buy Britis.

“But we won’t be able to buy British if our economy is weakening and if British businesses are saying that the burden is too high.”

London’s FTSE 100 fell 3.6 per cent before recovering slightly.But it closed before Trump’s tariffs U-turn.