Donald Trump will not levy tariffs on the UK despite having the EU in his sights, his senior advisor said last night.
Bryan Lanza confirmed that the US President would instead push through a trade deal with the UK, five years after it left the European bloc.
President Trump carried out his threat to impose 25% tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports yesterday and has threatened similar tariffs on Brussels.
On Friday he confirmed he would “absolutely” begin a trade war with Brussels adding: “The European Union has treated us so terribly”. Though it is not yet known what shape this will take.
Since then speculation has been mounting as to whether the tax on goods would apply to UK exporters.
Reports last week suggested Sir Keir Starmer’s government was bracing itself, and ministers were banking on a disparity between US and UK trade figures to exempt the UK.
According to US figures, America ran a £11.7 billion trade surplus with the UK in 2023, which would immunise Britain from tariff levies based on redressing the trade balance in the US’ favour.
However this contrasts with the Office for National Statistics, which reports that the UK ran a trade surplus with the US of £71.4bn, in 2023.
This is largely due to the fact that, while the US Bureau of Economic Analysis includes trade with Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man in the UK data, the ONS leaves Crown dependencies out because they are self-governing.
Also, while both countries are each other’s largest investors, this is mnaiky based on services and not manufactured goods.
But while the EU has always been a focus of contention by Brexit-supporting Trump, he has never publicly included the UK in his tariff rhetoric.
Asked whether President Trump had his sights set on the UK, Bryan Lanza, who was Trump’s senior advisor during the presidential campaign, told BBC’s Today programme yesterday: “Knowing what I know, I believe President Trump is eager to engage in a trade deal with the UK, and that’s a good thing. “
Mr Lanza denied that Trump was waging a trade war, explaining that this was a negotiating tactic.
The move is ostensibly intended to right the balance of trade deficits, but is actually, according to insiders, part of a negotiating strategy aimed at stemming the flow of illegal migraines and drug trafficking. – particularly with the opioid fentanyl – across the US’ borders.
“What you have to understand is that President Trump wants to have a negotiation and he knows how to bring people to the table so both sides can hammer out a new deal,“ he said.
He added that there was reason to believe China, which has been impacted with 10% tariffs, would not retaliate in kind.
“One of the first tariff conversations President Trump had with China wasn’t about a trade war, it was about bringing China to the negotiating table so that both sides could hammer out a new deal.”
But former Bank of England Governor Mark Carney, now running for the Liberal Party to replace Justin Trudeau as Canadian PM, vowed that he would “match dollar for dollar the US tariffs” if elected.
Economists have suggested the newly-imposed tariffs could have a devastating immediate impact on Canada’s economy, with some warning that it would lead the Commonwealth nation into recession.
Canada has already pledged more than £560m to boost security at its shared border with the US – a key point of contention for Trump.
Interestingly, Trump has delayed a levy on Canadian oil until February 18 – suggesting he hopes a settlement will be found before that day.
Canada is the top supplier of crude oil to the US, making up 60% of total oil imports,
“President Trump probably thinks Canada will cave in. But we are going to stand up to a bully, we’re not going to back down.” said Carney.
“We’re united and we will retaliate.”