Great Britain “must prepare for the worst” of the new import tariffs, Foreign Secretary David Lammy said yesterday while the world awaits the beginning of Donald Trump's commercial war.
The president of the United States has threatened to impose rates of 20 percent or more on imports around the world with an immediate effect on the measures that are expected to be announced on Wednesday, which has called “day of release.”
The nerves of the global market continued on the potential impact of a commercial war, since a study estimated that it could cost the world £ 1.1 billion.
Goldman Sachs analysts expected Great Britain to suffer a greater blow of what was afraid, even if a United Kingdom commercial agreement was agreed, due to the “largest negative spills” of the tariffs collected against the European Union. As a result, the bank now expects 0.8 percent of the United Kingdom growth this year and 1.2 percent in 2026, below 0.9 and 1.3 respectively.
Foreign Minister Rachel Reeves told a cabinet meeting that there would be a serious impact of tariffs.
And although Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds tried to be optimistic about the perspective of a United Kingdom agreement, could not give a schedule about when one could be completed. The ministers were also forced to deny that the Trump administration was making demands about freedom of expression in the United Kingdom as part of any possible commercial agreement.
Trump has previously announced that a 25 percent tax will be introduced in all imported cars to the United States. It has also announced similar tariffs on steel and aluminum.
However, Wednesday's announcement is expected to be much broader.
As the world prepares for the impact, Ireland warned that it could lose up to 80,000 jobs in a “worst case.”
In the House of Commons, Lammy said that “intense conversations” were still taking place on a possible economic agreement.
The spokesman for Foreign Affairs of Liberal Democrats, Calum Miller, asked if Britain should participate in conversations with the EU in a customs union to soften the tariff's coup.
Mr. Lammy replied: “It is very important at this time that we continue the intense conversations we are having with the US administration to obtain an economic agreement, but, of course, we prepare for the worst: all the options remain on the table, as the prime minister indicated.”
Previously, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch had admitted that she has not tried to use her relationship with the High Level Figures of the White House, such as Vice President JD Vance, to avoid tariffs.
Meanwhile, a new study by Aston Business School in Birmingham estimates that a world commercial war could cost $ 1.4 billion (£ 1.1 billion).
The investigation assigns six increasing scenarios, starting with American tariffs in Canada, Mexico and China, to complete global reprisals, with broader associated losses.
Previously, Sir Keir Starmer told Sky News: “The probability is that there will be rates. No one welcomes that.
“Obviously we are working with the most affected sectors to the rhythm of that. No one wants to see a commercial war, but I have to act in national interests.”
He said he expected the agreement to be negotiated with the United States would mitigate rates.
When he had been “played” by Trump in the midst of his efforts to build a good relationship, the prime minister said: “The United States is our closest ally. Our defense, our security, our intelligence are linked in a way that there are not two other countries.”
“Therefore, it is obviously of our national interest to have a close working relationship with the United States, which we have had for decades, and I want to make sure we have done so in the coming decades.”
He said that conversations on an economic agreement would normally take “months or years”, but “in a matter of weeks we have advanced well in those discussions.”
