No winners if US sparks global trade war, PM told

Nobody would win a tit-for-tat trade war with the US when Donald Trump returns to power, Britain’s top international trade expert has warned.

- ARCHIE MITCHELL DAVID MADDOX

An escalating tariff war with the Americans under Mr Trump would create “a very challenging market for us here in the UK” and British firms are increasingly concerned about the former president’s return, Marco Forgione, director general of the Chartered Institute of Export and International Trade, told The Independent.

Mr Trump’s victory over Kamala Harris in the US election has heightened calls for Sir Keir Starmer to immediately strengthen British ties with Europe.

Amid the prime minister’s ongoing post-Brexit reset of relations with the bloc, critics called for him to go further, faster, and rejoin the single market, customs union, and even the EU itself.

They fear that Britain will be left to fend for itself in an all-out trade war between the US and Europe - which has indicated it will retaliate against Mr Trump’s tariffs.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said after Mr Trump’s win: “Families across the UK will also be worrying about the damage Trump will do to our economy and our national security, given his record of starting trade wars, undermining Nato and emboldening tyrants like Putin.

"Fixing the UK’s broken relationship with the EU is even more urgent than before. We must strengthen trade and defence cooperation across Europe to help protect ourselves from the damage Trump will do.”