A trade war is “not the right way to resolve differences” within an alliance, Sir Keir Starmer has said.
At a Downing Street press conference to address the Greenland crisis, the prime minister appeared to rule out slapping the US with retaliatory tariffs.
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It comes after Donald Trump threatened the UK and other European nations with a 10% tariff on all goods from February, increasing to 25% from June, until a deal is reached for Washington to purchase the self-autonomous Danish island.
Sir Keir said using tariffs against allies is “completely wrong” and “not the right way to resolve differences”.
However, asked by Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby if he is planning retaliatory tariffs, Sir Keir said: “A tariff war isn’t in anybody’s interests and therefore what I want to do is to avoid a tariff war because it will be businesses, workers and families across the country that will be hit by a trade war.”
He said he will engage with European allies and with Mr Trump, adding: “We must find a pragmatic, sensible, sustained way through this that avoids some of the consequences that will be very serious for our country.”
The US president has not ruled out military action to achieve his aim of taking Greenland, which he wants because of its strategic Arctic location and mineral wealth.
Sir Keir said he does not think Mr Trump is genuinely considering that option, telling reporters: “I think that this can be resolved and should be resolved through calm discussion.”
The UK has insisted the US should have no say in Greenland’s future, echoing Europe’s position.
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In an announcement on Saturday night, Mr Trump said the tariffs “on any and all goods” sent to the US would hit the UK, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Finland.
Sir Keir responded on X, saying the decision was “completely wrong” and reiterated his position that the future of Greenland is “a matter for the Greenlanders and the Danes”.
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He also told Mr Trump the tariffs were wrong in a subsequent phone call on Sunday, the prime minister’s spokesperson said.
However, at the press conference on Monday, Sir Keir insisted the US “remains a close ally”.
He said: “The US remains a close ally on defence, on security and on intelligence, on nuclear capability, we’ve worked very closely with the United States, and we must never lose sight of our national interest in that,” he said.
“But we must stand up for our values. We must be clear about the principles that we are applying here, and we’ll continue to do so on the question of tariffs.”
