LONDON, Feb 23 (Reuters) – Britain does not expect U.S. President Donald Trump’s imposition of new 15% global tariffs to affect “most” parts of the U.K.-U.S. economic deal announced last year, Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s spokesman said on Monday.
The spokesman said UK Trade Secretary Peter Keir had spoken to US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer to highlight his concerns about the uncertainty it would create for businesses.
Britain risks becoming one of the worst-affected countries after the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday struck down Trump’s global tariffs and responded with sweeping new levies.
Starmer’s government negotiated reciprocal tariffs down to 10% following a deal with the US last year, but Trump has pledged to reimpose higher tariffs of 15%, meaning businesses may now face higher tariffs.
Starmer’s spokesman said the government expected discussions between British and US officials to continue this week and he refused to rule out retaliatory tariffs.
“We do not expect this ruling to affect most trade under the UK-US economic agreement,” including tariffs agreed on steel, pharmaceuticals and cars, the spokesman said.
The UK will be among the countries worst affected by Trump’s latest announcement, while Brazil, China and India will benefit the most, according to think tank Global Trade Alert.
Starmer’s spokesman said businesses did not want to “see a trade war” but said “nothing is impossible at this stage”.
(Reporting by Andrew MacAskill; Writing by Kate Holden; Editing by William James)
