UK might avoid might avoid trump’s tariff sanctions

Donald Trump has hinted that the UK may avoid the sort of swingeing tariffs that he has threatened to impose on the EU.

When it was put to him that he said yesterday the EU was constructed to “screw” the EU on trade, and when he was asked what Keir Starmer could say to him that would ensure that Britain did not face tariffs, Trump at first claimed not to have said that “bad word”.

He then launched into a long attack on the EU over trade policy, claiming that people thought it was “politically correct” to say the US’s trade relationship with the EU was good even thought it wasn’t.

Then, referring to the UK, he went on:

I can say that, we’re here for a different reason – we’re talking about a very different place. This is some place that I have investments there. I own Turnberry, I own Aberdeen, and I own a great place called Doonbeg in Ireland. So, I have a great warm spot for your country.

At this point Keir Starmer interrupted, saying:

And our trade, obviously, is fair and balanced and, in fact, you’ve got a bit of surplus. So, we’re in a different position there.

And obviously we contributed hugely in relation to Ukraine.

Trump then added: “It’s going to work out.”

Asked if he was saying that meant there would not be any sanctions on the UK, he replied:

Well, I have to take a look. We’re going to have a good discussion today, and we have some very talented people on the other side, and we have some people that probably aren’t as talented to them, but they’re pretty good. We’re going to have a good discussion, and we’ll be talking about it.