UK will ‘wait and see’ on Trump’s ‘reciprocal tariffs’ announcement

The Government will “wait and see” whether tariffs announced by Donald Trump on Friday “actually come to pass”, a senior minister has said.

The US president announced what he called “reciprocal tariffs” on all other countries on Friday evening, claiming it was “fair to all”.

But immediately following his announcement, it was unclear how this would apply to the UK, especially as Mr Trump suggested his policy regarded VAT as a tariff.

Pat McFadden, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and one of Sir Keir Starmer’s most senior ministers, told Sky News on Friday evening it was important not to “overreact” to the announcement from the Trump White House.

Asked what the Government’s response to Mr Trump’s announcement was, Mr McFadden said: “Wait and see what it means, it’s the best reaction to everything over the last month.

“Sometimes tariffs are announced, a couple of days later, they are unannounced.”

He added: “The most sensible thing to do with all of these announcements is to digest them, see if they actually come to pass, and then decide what you do.”

Saying there were still “a lot of unanswered questions” about the extent of the tariffs, he went on: “We took the decision…that we wouldn’t breathlessly chase every headline that was coming out over the last month.

“I think that’s the right decision.”

Published: 13/02/2025 by Radio NewsHub