UK pins hopes on US trade talks after Trump tariff blitz

Catarina Demony - Reuters - 03/04
Britain said it believed a trade deal with the United States was close as it sought to soften the impact of U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs which threaten an escalating global trade war that would hurt its open economy.
  • US imposes 10% tariffs on Britain
  • PM Starmer says talks with US will continue
  • UK economy is vulnerable to global slowdown
LONDON, April 3 (Reuters) - Britain said it believed a trade deal with the United States was close as it sought to soften the impact of U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs which threaten an escalating global trade war that would hurt its open economy.
Britain was spared the most punitive treatment in Trump's tariff announcement on Wednesday when it was hit with the lowest import duty rate of 10%.

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London said that decision vindicated its approach of trying to strike a new economic partnership with the U.S., rather than meeting fire with fire.
But Britain's economy, which has been sluggish largely since the 2007-08 global financial crisis, is vulnerable to a global economic slowdown. Weaker growth could force the government to cut spending or increase taxes to meet its own fiscal rules.
An agreement with the United States could at least help the Labour government which promised voters in last year's election that it would speed up the economy.
Business minister Jonathan Reynolds said Britain, as an outward-facing economy, was "exposed not just to decisions between ourselves and the United States, but that wider global environment".
He told the BBC it was "not inaccurate" to say the two sides had agreed the broad outline of a deal, which migh...
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