New global tariffs imposed by the US will have ‘profound’ economic consequences, the British prime minister warns.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has stated that the United States’ implementation of extensive global tariffs has ushered in a “new world” governed by “deals and alliances” rather than established rules.
Starmer made these comments in an opinion piece published in *The Sunday Telegraph* as countries worldwide prepared for further repercussions from US President Donald Trump’s new tariff regime, which caused markets to plunge at the end of last week.
“The world as we knew it has gone. Old assumptions can no longer be taken for granted,” Starmer wrote.
Trump’s baseline 10 percent import tax on goods from around the world took effect on Saturday. While the United Kingdom has been relatively less affected with the 10 percent tariff, many other nations face even higher levies in the coming days.
“This is an economic revolution, and we will win,” Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social, on Saturday. “Hang tough, it won’t be easy, but the end result will be historic.”
Starmer disagreed. “Nobody wins from a trade war,” he said, describing the “profound” economic consequences of Trump’s trade offensive and indicating that “all options remain on the table” in responding to the tariffs.
End of Globalization
On Sunday, Darren Jones, Chief Secretary to the UK Treasury, stated on the BBC’s *Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg* program that “globalization as we’ve known it for the last number of decades” has effectively come to an end.
UK ministers had been hesitant to criticize the Trump administration following the tariffs, as officials have been in talks with the US in recent weeks in hopes of securing a trade deal with Washington.
In his opinion piece, Starmer insisted that a trade deal with the US would only be struck “if it is right for British business and the security of working people,” emphasizing that he would “continue to make the case for free and open trade.”
Trump’s 34 percent tariff on Chinese goods is set 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 approximately 60 US trading partners expected to face higher tariffs on Wednesday, raising concerns about potential recessions in some of the world’s leading economies.
Trump’s announcement of the tariffs on Wednesday has left countries scrambling to respond. Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa announced on Saturday that he would suspend all tariffs on goods imported from the US after being hit with an 18 percent levy.
On Sunday, Indonesian Chief Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto stated that his country, Southeast Asia’s largest economy, would not retaliate against Trump’s 32 percent tariff, which is set to take effect on Wednesday.
“The approach was taken by considering the long-term interest of bilateral trade relations, as well as to maintain the investment climate and national economic stability,” he said, adding that Jakarta would support potentially impacted sectors, such as the apparel and footwear industry.
The new tariffs mark “the most sweeping tariff hike since the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act, the 1930 law best remembered for triggering a global trade war and deepening the Great Depression,” said the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a think tank based in Washington, DC.
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