Keir Starmer should fight back strongly against Donald Trump if he imposes punitive tariffs on British exports, senior UK and EU diplomats said on Saturday night, amid heightened fears that the US president could trigger a global trade war with devastating effects on the UK economy.
British government officials in London and Washington are working frantically this weekend to try to persuade Trump not to slap duties on more key UK industries on what he is calling “liberation day” on Wednesday. The US president has already announced plans for 25% levies on imports of cars, steel and aluminium to the US.
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The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) warned last week that a 20% increase in tariffs between the US and the rest of the world would cut UK growth by 1% and “entirely eliminate” the £9.9bn of fiscal headroom that the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, restored in the public finances by a painful programme of welfare and other cuts in her spring statement last week.
The UK is just about as undemocratic as the US, given that they too have a First Past The Post system, possibly even less democratic with their unelected head of state (which does actually has some power given that he can block legislation) and unelected second house of parliament (the House Of Lords, which even includes members who literally inherit the position).
Also and in case you have been living under a rock for the last 2 decades, the UK invariably joined every single “illegal under international law” invasion and bombing done by the US, most notably the 2nd Iraq war.
The rest of Europe definitely has issues too and a lot of hypocrisy, but amongst us all the UK is one of the least Democratic nations who least practice Democratic values, second only to the likes of Hungary - they talk a tall talk - pretty poshly too - all the while for example still supporting the Israeli Genocide in Gaza.
Absolutely, the UK joining the Single Market under conditions such as those of the EEA (i.e. similar to Norway) would be fine and be good for us all in the upcoming trade war, but being a member of the EU again with an actual vote and veto without having actually changed socially or in terms of political structures from the UK which kept on trying to squeeze special privileges out of the rest of the EU with never-ending threats of vetoing and even leaving (the last of which ended up fulfilled when they didn’t got the one-sided - only limiting others, not for Britons - removal of Freedom Of Movement they demanded), would be a huge mistake.
The EU is stronger, more nimble and less subverted by American interests without this version of the UK - as it is now and has been since at least Thatcher’s time - in it.
Once they evolve socially and politically out of 19th century system they’ve had over there for more than a century and become a modern European nation, I’m sure they would fit much better in an union that supposed to be for the common good and is not the an association of nations that follows the present day view of international politics of the British elites were such things are “non-war mechanisms for big nations to control smaller nations”.
(And I say this as somebody who lived in Britain for a decade as an EU immigrant).
See your point, thanks.