British Prime Minister warns of profound economic consequences due to new global tariffs implemented by the US.
In an opinion piece published in The Sunday Telegraph, Starmer addressed the alarming impact of US President Donald Trump’s new tariff regime, which caused market declines at the end of last week.
“The old world is gone. We can no longer rely on old assumptions,” Starmer writes.
Trump’s 10 percent baseline import tax on goods worldwide took effect on Saturday. While the UK faces a relatively modest 10 percent tariff, many countries will confront even higher tariffs in the following days.
“This is an economic revolution, and we will win. Hang tough, it won’t be easy, but the outcome will be historic,” Trump posted on his social media platform, Truth Social, on Saturday.
Starmer countered, “Nobody wins from a trade war. Profound economic consequences will result from Trump’s trade strategy, and all options are on the table in our response to the tariffs.”
The End of Globalization
On Sunday, Darren Jones, the UK’s Chief Secretary to the Treasury, stated on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg program that “globalization as we have known it over the past few decades” has essentially ended.
UK ministers have refrained from criticizing the Trump administration following the tariffs, as discussions with the US in recent weeks aimed at securing a trade deal with Washington continue.
Starmer emphasized that a trade deal will occur only “if it is in the best interest of British businesses and the security of working people,” and he pledged to continue advocating for free and open trade.
Trump’s 34-percent tariff on Chinese goods is scheduled to take effect next week, prompting Beijing to announce a 34-percent levy on US products starting Thursday.
The European Union and Japan are among the approximately 60 US trading partners to face higher tariffs starting Wednesday. There are concerns that these actions could lead to recessions in some of the world’s major economies.
Trump’s tariff announcement on Wednesday has prompted countries to urgently find countermeasures. Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa declared on Saturday that his nation would suspend all tariffs on goods imported from the US after facing an 18-percent levy.
Indonesian Chief Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto stated on Sunday that his country, the largest economy in Southeast Asia, will not retaliate against Trump’s 32-percent tariff, which will come into effect on Wednesday.
“The decision was made considering the long-term interest of our bilateral trade relations, as well as maintaining the investment climate and national economic stability,” he added, noting that Jakarta will support potentially impacted sectors, such as the apparel and footwear industry.
The new tariffs represent “the most extensive tariff hike since the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930, a law infamous for triggering a global trade war and intensifying the Great Depression,” according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington D.C.-based think tank.
