The UK has a “strong, fair, balanced and reciprocal trading relationship” with the United States, No10 has stressed, as US tariffs came into force against Canada and Mexico.
President Trump’s tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico took effect on Tuesday, with global markets put on edge and retaliations planned by the two countries – after the US leader insisted on Monday that the move was a “very powerful weapon”.
Imports into the US from Canada and Mexico are now to be taxed at 25 per cent, with Canadian energy products getting tariffed at 10 per cent. While the 10 per cent tariff Trump placed on Chinese imports in February is doubling to 20 per cent.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his country would slap tariffs on more than 100 billion dollars (£78.7 billion) of American goods over the course of 21 days in response.
Meanwhile, China announced it will impose additional tariffs of up to 15 per cent on imports of key US farm products, including chicken, pork, soy and beef, and also expanded controls on doing business with key US companies.
Tariff response
Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum said the country will respond with its own retaliatory tariffs on US goods, which she will announce at a public event in Mexico City on Sunday.
Sheinbaum said there was “no motive or reason, nor justification that supports this decision”, while Trudeau warned Canada’s tariffs “will remain in place until the US action is withdrawn”.
She added that: “Should US tariffs not cease, we are in active and ongoing discussions with provinces and territories to pursue several non-tariff measures.
“Because of the tariffs imposed by the US, Americans will pay more for groceries, gas, and cars, and potentially lose thousands of jobs.
“Tariffs will disrupt an incredibly successful trading relationship. They will violate the very trade agreement that was negotiated by President Trump in his last term.”
The Associated Press reported Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian as stating in response: “I would like to reiterate that the Chinese people have never been afraid of evil, do not believe in ghosts, and have never been bullied.”
US markets fell sharply Monday after Trump said there was “no room left” for negotiations, and shares in Europe and Asia were mostly lower on Tuesday after they took effect, with the President having said tariffs will only be reduced if the US trade imbalance closes.
UK reaction to US
Asked for the UK government’s response to the tariffs, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “When it comes to other countries’ bilateral trade relationships, that’s obviously a matter for them.
“The UK and the US have got a very strong, fair, balanced and reciprocal trading relationship, as the Prime Minister said last week.
“The Prime Minister was pleased following the discussion with President Trump last week to agree teams will work together at pace on a new economic deal focused on AI and tech.”
Pressed on how the Prime Minister felt about the potential for a global trade war, the spokesman said: “I wouldn’t characterise it like that. I’ll leave other countries’ bilateral trade relationships to them. From the UK’s perspective, we’re obviously focused on our trading relationships with the United States and other countries and around the world.
“We’ve got a significant trade investment relationship with the US and it supports 2.5m jobs this side of the Atlantic, and we want to work with the US to deepen that relationship.”
And quizzed on whether the UK should be standing up for Canada as a Commonwealth ally, the spokesman again insisted he was “not going to comment on other countries’ behalf”.
He added: “On the UK’s behalf, when it comes to working in the US, as the Prime Minister said, our trade is not just strong, it is fair, balanced and reciprocal, and we’ve agreed to work together to deepen our relationship and to agree an economic deal focused on tech.”