UK Urged to Deploy EU-Style 'Trade Bazooka' Against Trump's Tariffs

The Call for a 'Trade Bazooka'

UK business leaders have called on the government to build an EU-style “trade bazooka” to protect Britain’s economic interests in response to the latest tariff threats from Donald Trump.

The Risks of Inadequate Economic Security

As transatlantic tensions rise, the British Chambers of Commerce said the UK’s “inadequate economic security” was putting growth and jobs at risk. The lobby group, which represents thousands of firms, urged Keir Starmer to take the lead in protecting Britain from external crises, saying there had been “years of neglect by successive governments”.

The Impact of Global Tensions

Geopolitical tensions, the impact of Brexit, the Covid pandemic, and wars in Ukraine and the Middle East mean UK companies are navigating an increasingly fraught global backdrop for international trade.

The US Tariff Threat

The US president last week threatened to impose “a big tariff” on the UK unless it drops a digital services tax that impacts US technology companies.

The Proposed Solution

In a report setting out recommendations to help stop the decline of British competitiveness in an increasingly unstable world, the BCC said urgent steps were required to protect companies from other countries’ punitive trade policies. Among its top priorities was for the UK to mimic the EU by creating a “trade bazooka” to deter other countries from making threats designed to bully Britain into changing its economic policies.

The Future Outlook

The BCC also urged ministers to take a “robust approach” to the EU’s Made In Europe agenda to ensure UK businesses had a role in wider European supply chains. It called for UK firms to play a bigger role in UK defence procurement, and for the prime minister to create a new economic security cabinet committee.