A trade chief has warned that further tariffs which Donald Trump could impose on the UK in just a matter of weeks could do ‘a lot more damage’ to our economy.
Brit business owners with a stake in the metals industry are already bracing for the possibility of financial hardship, but it turns out a host of other sectors might soon be dragged into this mess too.
It is feared that the President might slap tariffs on all goods which are brought into the US from countries around the world, which would cause carnage for millions of companies.
And if Trump‘s recent moves are anything to go by, it seems he really doesn’t mind gambling with a global trade war.
The tariffs on all steel and aluminium imports came into effect from today (12 March), and a trade expert reckons the situation could easily ‘escalate further’ with more being imposed in the next few weeks.
William Bain, head of trade policy for the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), told LADbible that this is essentially phase one of Trump’s ‘tariff plan’, which he often hyped up during his presidential campaign.
“A big part of his election campaign was how he said that the US economy was being ripped off by the free-trade, low tariffs approach,” the expert explained.
“In his view, you need to make countries pay for the access they are getting into the US market…so he feels that imposing tariffs is the right way to go.”
The President could impose further tariffs in the next few weeks (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
The Republican leader has promised tariffs will help protect US manufacturing and increase jobs – and trade chiefs like Bain reckon Trump might seriously up the ante from here on out to prove his point.
“Today could be the first step in quite a severe programme of measures that could come in over the coming weeks, if not months,” the former Labour MP said. “Today is the first element.
“But there could be many, many more important sectors of our economy that would suffer a lot more damage [if further tariffs are brought in].”
Bain warned that the President could bring in further tariffs which would ‘apply to all goods exported from the UK and other countries’, as soon as 2 April.
“There’s a lot for businesses to think about right now, particularly small businesses who enjoy trading with the US,” he told LADbible. “It’s our second largest export market after the EU, there’s very strong links between UK and US companies – but they are concerned about what all of this means.”
Bain said that its average Americans who are going to pay the price for Trump’s latest salvo, while it’s not going to have ‘anywhere near the same kind of impact’ on the EU or the UK.
However, the ramifications of the steel and aluminium tariffs which will emerge in the coming days could be the calm before the storm.
“This other plan that the President’s talked about could cover basically all sectors,” the trade chief explained. “So clothing, pharmaceuticals, cars…that would be a lot more damaging for our economy and the economy worldwide.
Bain says he ‘hopes’ Starmer can sort something out with the US before the tariffs nightmare becomes reality (BENJAMIN CREMEL/AFP via Getty Images)
“So that’s why we hope that the government can talk to the US,” Bain said, although Sir Keir Starmer this morning described the tariffs as ‘disappointing’ and promised to ‘keep all options on the table’.
Bain said the fact the transatlantic countries have a ‘dialogue’ about the topic is a good start, as hopefully it will mean Brit business owners won’t be stuck in this strange limbo of uncertainty for too long.
“I think the key thing that businesses are looking for is hopefully to try and suspend that second lot of tariffs that could come in and then get something that gives businesses some certainty,” Bain continued.
“The last thing that they need is all this chopping and changing. Time is money when it comes to business.”
There is one silver lining though, despite all this doom and gloom – there’s no tariffs between the US and UK on the trade in services.
Bain explained: “Whether it’s legal services, architects, design, auditing, professional services, travel, transport services – that’s the bit of our trade that’s really booming in the US and that has been the case for the last 20 years.
“There’s no tariffs on services, so if you’re a lawyer doing contractual work for customers in New York, you’re not affected by this. So that is the one bright spot.
“Also, the President said a couple of weeks ago that he would like to get an arrangement whereby we permanently keep services trade free of any taxes or duties.
“That’s one thing we can really lean into and work with the President on. But if you’re trading in goods – if you’re in the pharmaceutical sector, if you’re in the automotive sector, food and drink – you will be worried about what’s next.”
It seems Trump’s actions over the next few weeks could make or break a lot of firms.
