UK PM Keir Starmer acknowledges Trump's tariff logic but calls them wrong

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is expected to acknowledge the reasoning behind US President Donald Trump’s latest push for tariffs, even as he maintains that such protectionist measures are the wrong approach, according to The Times.

In a speech due to be delivered on Sunday, the Labour leader is set to announce that he recognises why Trump's economic nationalism resonates with many voters. However, he will also argue that tariffs ultimately do more harm than good.

“Trump has done something that we don’t agree with but there’s a reason why people are behind him on this,” a spokesperson for the Prime Minister told The Times.

“The world has changed, globalization is over and we are now in a new era. We’ve got to demonstrate that our approach, a more active Labour government, a more reformist government, can provide the answers for people in every part of this country,” the spokesperson added, quoted by the New York Post.

Starmer will also throw light on what he sees as the end of globalisation, saying that free trade and mass migration, once considered cornerstones of modern economic policy, have failed large sections of the voters.

Although Starmer has not yet spoken to President Trump about the newly announced tariffs, he did raise the issue with French President Emmanuel Macron during a phone call on Saturday. Both leaders reportedly agreed that a trade war would benefit no one, though “nothing should be off the table,” according to the report.

Trump’s sweeping new tariffs, announced on Wednesday, include a 10% levy on all goods imported from the UK, part of a broader strategy targeting almost every country in the world.