Ed Davey: UK should stand as much as ‘bully’ Donald Trump

Liberal Democrat chief Sir Ed Davey has referred to as for the UK to face as much as Donald Trump, branding the US president a “bully”.

In a speech to his get together’s spring convention in Harrogate, Sir Ed urged the prime minister to agree a co-ordinated response to US tariffs with the European Union and Canada.

Trump has promised a raft of latest tariffs – taxes charged on items imported from different international locations – on 2 April, whereas the UK has already been affected by a 25% tariff on all metal and aluminium imports.

Sir Ed stated the UK ought to “hit again with tariffs of our personal”, beginning with taxes on imports of Tesla electrical automobiles, the corporate run by Elon Musk, who’s now additionally a senior adviser to Trump.

Canada and the EU have each introduced retaliatory tariffs on the US.

In distinction Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has up to now resisted doing so, as an alternative saying he’ll take a “pragmatic method”, whereas preserving all choices on the desk.

The US and UK are in talks over a possible commerce deal, which Trump has stated may keep away from the necessity for tariffs.

Sir Ed, who has been a vocal critic of Trump, stated the UK should take care of the US president “from a place of power, not weak point”.

“Identical to any bully, you do not take care of them by curling up in a ball and hoping they’re going to go away you alone,” he stated.

“You do not flip a blind eye as they assault your mates, praying that perhaps they’re going to cease there.

“It’s important to get up, stand powerful, stand along with our mates, clarify that an assault on one is an assault on all.”

The Lib Dem chief additionally accused Trump of “betraying Ukraine” and “promoting out” the safety of Europe.

In the meantime, he hit again at Trump’s particular envoy, Steve Witcoff, who branded Sir Keir’s plan for a global drive to assist a ceasefire in Ukraine as “a posture and a pose”.

“Trump’s so-called “particular envoy” may dismiss British management as pointless posturing, however we all know what it truly is,” he stated.

“Britain, main in Europe once more, as we’ve got completed on the best moments in our nation’s historical past.”

He referred to as for the PM to step up his efforts to assist Ukraine, funded by freezing Russian property within the UK.

Earlier, Chancellor Rachel Reeves instructed the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme: “We don’t wish to see British exporters topic to larger tariffs and we wish to see commerce limitations fall proper internationally.”

She urged the UK may change a tax on huge tech firms as a part of a deal to keep away from tariffs.

Requested if the Digital Providers Tax, which impacts international tech giants like Amazon and Meta, might be tweaked to save lots of the UK financial system from tariffs, Reeves stated: “You have to get the stability proper and people discussions in the mean time are ongoing.”

Sir Ed urged such a transfer would quantity to “altering the UK’s tax coverage to appease Donald Trump”, in addition to Musk, who owns social media platform X.