The UK’s discussions with the US over exemptions from Donald Trump’s tariffs are “intense”, Yvette Cooper has said. The Home Secretary made the comments days before the White House goes ahead with a 25% tax on car imports and threats of wider tariffs on other goods on 2 April.
Ms Cooper said US tariffs could harm the entire world’s economy. When asked by Sky News’s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips programme how damaging she thought the tariffs could be, the Home Secretary said: “In the end, if you increase barriers to trade right across the world, that’s not good for the world economy, let alone any individual country as part of that.
“So that’s why our approach to this has been to try and seek new trade agreements across the world, including improving our trading relationship with the EU as well as with the US.”
Ms Cooper reiterated the Prime Minister’s message that “no option is off the table”, when it comes to responding to the tariffs.
Discussions with the US over exemptions from the levy are “intense”, she said.
Ms Cooper added: “We obviously can’t keep a running commentary on different discussions that are taking place, but we have to always make sure that we’re acting in the national interest.”
The Prime Minister said this week that his Government was involved in ongoing discussions with the White House aimed at “mitigating the impact” of any levies but that ultimately “our national interest has to come first”.
The US is the second largest export market after the European Union for cars built in the UK.
Jaguar Land Rover could be one of the UK vehicle manufacturers most affected by tariffs.
Some 16.9% of UK car exports were to the US last year, representing a total of more than 101,000 units worth £7.6 billion.
Ministers have said they will take a pragmatic approach towards the threat of tariffs, seeking to strengthen transatlantic trade ties and pursue a wider UK-US economic deal.
The Tories have stressed the need to secure a trade deal with the US to protect against the impact of tariffs.
