Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds has described Donald Trump’s newly announced tariffs on British imports as “disappointing” and insisted there is “no need” for them to be put in place.
The comments come after the US President announced a 10 per cent tariff on all UK imports as part of his “Liberation Day” measures.
Going through a chart marking tariffs for different countries, Trump said: “United Kingdom – 10 per cent – and we’ll go 10 per cent so we’ll do the same thing.”
In response to Trump’s claim that the UK charges the US 10 per cent in tariffs, the Business Secretary firmly stated: “No, I would say that’s not accurate.”
Jonathan Reynolds has described Donald Trump’s newly announced tariffs on British imports as “disappointing”
GB NEWS
Speaking to GB News, Reynolds said: “It’s disappointing because there is no need for these tariffs to be put in place.
“We’ve got a very strong, very fair, very balanced trading relationship with the US, the kind of complaints the US has had about the deficit in goods its got with the EU or with the Chinese, we don’t have that.
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“So we’ve got the basis for that. And I would have wanted to have had that agreement in place. So we weren’t subject to this.
“But no country in the world has got that. You’re right to say we’re in the more favourable basket of countries, but we’ve still got to be disappointed.
“It’s not job done just because we’re better off than other people.
“My work will continue to make sure we get an agreement in place, which I believe is possible.
“That would not only remove what has been announced, but not just go back to where we were, actually make that relationship even stronger. I think there’s more we can do.
“So UK companies have more market access to the US. That’s what I want and that’s what we’re going to continue to work towards in the weeks and months ahead.”
About 20 countries received this “baseline tariff” treatment alongside Britain.
Donald Trump unveiled the sweeping new tariffs on US imports last night
GETTY
Other nations face significantly higher rates, with China receiving 34 per cent tariffs, Japan 24 per cent and India 26 per cent.
Trump declared: “We will charge them approximately half of what they are and have been charging us.
Trump claimed the measures represent “our declaration of economic independence” and said “April 2, 2025 will forever be remembered as the day American industry was reborn”.
Sir Keir Starmer is now looking looking to develop Britain’s response to the ongoing trade war, insisting “cool and calm” heads are needed to combat to serve the UK’s best interests.
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