UK PM Starmer Keeps ‘All Options On Table’ As Trump Slaps Tariffs On Steel, Aluminium
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Wednesday that Britain will keep “all options on the table” after US President Donald Trump imposed a 25 per cent tariff on steel and aluminium imports worldwide.
Speaking during the weekly Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) session in the House of Commons, Starmer responded to a query from Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey. Davey urged him to take a “more robust” stance against the US tariffs, which could hurt UK businesses.
“On the question of tariffs, like everybody else I’m disappointed to see global tariffs in relation to steel and aluminium, but we will take a pragmatic approach,” Starmer said in Parliament.
“We are negotiating an economic deal which covers and will include tariffs if we succeed, but we will keep all options on the table,” he added.
Shortly after Starmer’s statement, UK Secretary of State for Business and Trade Jonathan Reynolds said the government was focused on negotiating an economic agreement with the US to remove additional tariffs.
“I will continue to engage closely and productively with the US to press the case for UK business interests. We will keep all options on the table and won’t hesitate to respond in the national interest,” Reynolds said.
He also said the government was working with affected companies and backed industry’s request for the Trade Remedies Authority to investigate possible measures to protect UK producers.
The tariffs could increase the cost of various products, including cars and soft drink cans. Canada, the largest exporter of steel and aluminium to the US, is expected to suffer the most. The European Union (EU) has already announced retaliatory tariffs.
“Jobs are at stake, prices up, nobody needs that, on both sides, neither in the EU or the US,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. She called the EU’s response “strong but proportionate” and said the bloc remains “open to negotiations.”
The EU tariffs will be partially implemented on April 1 and fully enforced by April 13.
Meanwhile, India is discussing a bilateral trade agreement with the US to address concerns over Trump’s tariff policies. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, during a recent UK visit, referred to Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal’s trip to Washington to negotiate the pact.
Jaishankar also cited discussions between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Trump at the White House last month.
“We had a very open conversation about it (tariffs) and the result of that (Modi-Trump) conversation was that we agreed on the need for a bilateral trade agreement,” Jaishankar said.
(With PTI inputs)
