Ed Davey has urged Keir Starmer to use Emmanuel Macron’s state visit to “show a united front” against Donald Trump’s trade war.
The Liberal Democrat leader brutally told the PM not to take the US president’s “playground bullying and divide-and-rule tactics lying down” while warning about the possibility that American tariffs on UK steel exports could rise from 25 per cent to 50 per cent on the 9 July.
Davey said: “The prime minister must use today’s visit [Tuesday] to stand with Macron against Donald Trump’s damaging trade war.
“With Trump’s tariffs threatening to hammer our steel industry and wreak havoc on the global economy, we must show a united front with our European and Commonwealth allies.
“The government has worked hard to negotiate but every time Donald Trump’s boomerang tariffs come back as he moves the goal posts again and again.
“It’s time to make clear to Trump that we will not take his playground bullying and divide-and-rule tactics lying down. That is the best way to stand up for British jobs, protect our economy and end the uncertainty of this trade war for good.”
Sir Ed has been a long-time critic of Trump. In January, he said that Britain can’t ignore Donald Trump as he is a “threat to peace and prosperity”.
“This is the man who has praised Putin’s invasion of Ukraine as ‘genius’, and said he would encourage Russia to do whatever the hell they want to NATO allies. The man who has even refused to rule out invading a NATO ally himself,” he argued.
“So the reality is, unfortunately, very clear. The incoming Trump Administration is a threat to peace and prosperity in the UK, across Europe, and around the world. For the next four years, the UK cannot depend on the president of the United States to be a reliable partner on security, defence or the economy.
“But let us also be clear: nor can we simply ignore Donald Trump or the United States for the next four years. The question is not whether we deal with Donald Trump. We have to. The question is how.”