The UK Government says it is considering “possible retaliatory action” after US President Donald Trump announced a 10% tax on British goods imported to the US, on top of previously announced tariffs on cars and steel. There are concerns about how the tariffs will impact the UK economy, as the US is the UK's largest export partner. Report by Jonesia. Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/itn and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/itn
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00:00Outside of love and religion, it's the most beautiful word there is.
00:05Tariff!
00:06To me, the most beautiful word in the dictionary is tariff.
00:09Foreign scavengers have torn apart our once beautiful American dream.
00:16We had an American dream, and they let it happen to an extent that nobody can even believe.
00:21That's why, in fact, at midnight...
00:27So, if you look at that, China, first row.
00:31China, 67%.
00:33That's tariffs charged to the USA, including currency manipulation.
00:56Steel and aluminium tariffs are also ones we know about, but they will continue to be
01:11concerning.
01:12I think there are several other sectors in the UK that are potentially exposed.
01:17Pharmaceuticals is one.
01:19They are subject to the universal tariff that has been announced, the 10%.
01:24And I think when you look at the responses, for the most part, businesses are saying they
01:27don't want to see retaliation from the UK.
01:30They are keen to try and minimise the impact and keen for the government to continue to
01:35work towards striking some kind of agreement to lower the tariffs eventually.
01:49Very worried, because the uncertainty, and remember, in the whisky business, we've been
01:53going 10 years now.
01:55Some of our barrels that we've laid down in casks, that can be 18 years, 25 years.
02:01It creates massive uncertainty.
02:05If the government does what it can, as I said, throw the rulebook away.
02:15Look at how you can reduce energy costs, remove any unnecessary burdens from the industry.
02:20Make sure we retain our flexible employment practices.
02:24We still make cars that the world wants.
02:27Customers will pay some premium for it.
02:29Yes, it could hurt volume, but remember also that Europe's our biggest market.
02:42Clearly, there will be an economic impact from the decisions that the US has taken,
02:48both here and globally.
02:51We have a range of levers at our disposal, and we will continue our work with businesses
02:57across the country to discuss their assessment of the options.
03:02As I say, our intention remains to secure a deal, but nothing is off the table.
03:18The government need to get on and negotiate a tariff-free free trade agreement with the
03:23USA.
03:24They should have started that back in November, when Donald Trump was first elected, but they
03:28were very, very slow.
03:29Apparently, Keir Starmer only started discussing free trade with Donald Trump just a few weeks
03:33ago, and now British businesses and British workers are going to be paying the price for
03:38Keir Starmer's very slow start, but they now need to remedy that and get on with it.
03:48Tariffs on other countries, whether they're in Europe or elsewhere, they will hit our
03:56economy too.
03:57There will be a global recession.
03:59This is devastating news.
04:01That's why Liberal Democrats believe we need to work with others against the bully Trump.
04:05He's trying to divide and rule.
04:07We need to come together, whether it's with Europe, with the Commonwealth, with friends
04:11and allies in the Far East.
04:18I am today launching a request for input on the implications for British businesses of
04:27possible retaliatory action.
04:30This is a formal step necessary for us to keep all options on the table.
04:34We will seek the views of UK stakeholders over four weeks until 1 May 2025 on products
04:41that could potentially be included in any UK tariff response.
04:48For more UN videos visit www.un.org