Leaders of all of Britain’s main political parties have joined Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer in criticising Donald Trump’s threat of tariffs on European countries for resisting his attempts to annex Greenland.
Trump’s intervention on Saturday night, which blindsided European leaders, poses major economic challenges for the UK’s fragile economy and also threatens to unravel Starmer’s painstaking attempts to keep the US president onside.
Starmer said he would be seeking urgent talks with Washington, adding: “Applying tariffs on allies for pursuing the collective security of Nato allies is completely wrong.”
Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK — who aligns himself with Trump on many issues — warned that the Greenland tariffs would “hurt” Britain.
“We don’t always agree with the US government and in this case we certainly don’t,” he said. Richard Tice, a senior Reform figure, echoed Starmer’s language by saying on Sunday that Trump’s move was “completely wrong”.
Kemi Badenoch, Tory leader, said Britain needed to be “rebuilding our defences” because “otherwise we will end up being poodles as the US annexes Greenland and we’re slapped with tariffs because we have not shown any strength”.
The united front from UK political parties is a recognition of the potential danger to the British economy from 10 per cent US tariffs, which could rise to 25 per cent in June. The US is Britain’s largest single export market and is responsible for about 16 per cent of UK sales abroad, with machinery, cars, chemicals and pharmaceuticals the biggest sectors.
“If you’re planning any kind of exports to the US, you no longer know what is going to happen tomorrow. This is obviously a huge hit to US exporters,” said David Henig, director of the UK Trade Policy Project.
Richard Rumbelow, director of international business at manufacturers’ group Make UK, said its members were concerned by the “escalating rhetoric” that risked spilling over into trade policy.
“The UK and US manufacturing sectors are deeply integrated, and any move towards new tariffs would be felt quickly through higher costs, disrupted supply chains and reduced business confidence.
“This is already having a real impact, with UK manufacturers planning to reduce exports to the US this year in response to existing tariffs.”
Sean McGuire, Europe and international director at the CBI, the employers’ organisation, said additional tariffs would “benefit no one and could seriously undermine” the UK-US relationship. “We support the UK government’s efforts to reach an acceptable solution through dialogue.”
Lisa Nandy, culture secretary, suggested on Sunday it might be possible to change Trump’s mind over the tariffs. “Often with this particular US administration, the president will express a very strong view, and he will then encourage a dialogue,” she told Sky News. “This is a negotiation.”
But some Labour MPs said ministers should accelerate attempts to rebuild ties with Europe. “Trump’s tariffs and threats mean it’s make your mind up time,” said Stella Creasy, a Labour backbencher. “If we can’t rely on America . . . the answer is to get serious about our strategic future with Europe.”
In a joint statement released on Sunday, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the UK said that Trump’s tariff threats undermined transatlantic relations “and risk a dangerous downward spiral”.
EU ambassadors are meeting on Sunday afternoon to discuss a joint response to Trump, but the UK is not attending.
One UK official questioned how Starmer’s approach of prioritising the UK’s relationship with the US above all else would be affected, noting there was already growing discussion in government about rebalancing towards Europe.
Since Trump’s inauguration Starmer has expended domestic political capital in prioritising building a close relationship with the president, ultimately winning a trade agreement including lower tariffs than the EU.
He has repeatedly trumpeted it as one of the successes of his government so far, even as Labour has bled support to parties on its left with a clearer anti-Trump stance, including the Liberal Democrats and Greens.
Starmer had hoped that a positive relationship with Trump could help retain US support in Ukraine, particularly for any peace deal that might ultimately emerge.
UK officials have previously avoided pushing back too aggressively on Trump’s pronouncements on Greenland, believing Ukraine must be the priority, though Starmer has said it is for Greenland and Denmark alone to decide its future.
The UK prime minister had pushed the idea of an increased European security presence in Greenland, including in a call with Trump earlier this month. A readout of that call from Downing Street said they had discussed Europe doing more for security in the “High North”.
It came shortly after the UK had provided support to the US in seizing an alleged shadow-fleet oil tanker with links to Russia, Venezuela and Iran off Iceland.
A small number of troops have already arrived in Greenland from several European countries — including a token presence from the UK — in an attempt to reassure the US that European Nato members were serious about Arctic security.
But that appears to have backfired, with Trump accusing the Europeans of playing a “very dangerous game” and having “journeyed to Greenland for purposes unknown”.
Additional reporting by Ashley Armstrong