Trump tarriffs to hit UK hard

Think tank Global Trade Alert has warned that the UK is set to be one of the worst hit by a 15% tariff imposed by US President Donald Trump. After seeing his tariff-wargame shut down by the Supreme Court on Friday, Trump has responded by putting a uniform global tariff in place.

The analysis shows the proposed global tariff would be higher than the rate already agreed in the US-UK trade deal. In other words, allies of the US would pay more – while countries like China and Brazil would effectively get a discount on the rates previously applied against them.

Trump’s ego takes a knock, so retaliation must follow

We wrote on Friday about the US President’s recent setback as the Supreme Court slapped him down over his ridiculous tariff agenda:

The ruling won 6-3. It states that Trump cannot use the excuse of a national emergency to legally impose sweeping, country-specific import taxes.

It immediately invalidates the broad tariffs that Trump imposed last year on nearly all imports. This included so-called “reciprocal tariffs” on many countries, and many additional levies which Trump claimed were due to the fentanyl crisis.

This whole incident follows the Trump playbook: he didn’t get what he wanted, so it’s round two. Only this time, the fallout isn’t targeted – it’s shared. Originally stating a 10% tariff, the president changed his mind and increased it to 15%. Because at the end of the day, Trump only looks out for Trump.

As a result, countries previously targeted by the US, including Canada and Mexico, are set to see savings, while those that have aligned more closely with US interests are expected to be left facing negative consequences when the tariffs are applied.

Andy Haldane, President of the British Chamber of Commerce, told the BBC:

The perversity of what happened of the weekend was that those who got good deals, the allies, have been most disadvantaged.

However, US trade representative Jamieson Greer has insisted that trade deals negotiated with allies would still stand. According to the BBC, the UK’s trade department have been contacted for comment.

Greer told CBS on Sunday:

The deals were not premised on whether or not the emergency tariff litigation would rise or fall. These deals are going to be good deals.

We expect to stand by them. We expect our partners to stand by them.

Nevertheless, others have pointed out that this tariff is unlikely to have any legal weight behind it:

Tariff fatigue and confusion

As our own HG wrote on Friday, the President has no qualms about throwing his weight around for his own interests and political agendas:

He has also threatened to deploy his masked ICE goons to disrupt voting – talk about a dictatorship.

Trump doesn’t like being told no – by anyone, let alone the legal system. Before the judgment, Trump said, “We’ll figure something out”. Of course, he will have no intention of following the ruling. When has he ever followed the law? He’s been accused of being a child rapist and is named thousands of times in the Epstein files. He’s hardly going to care about a few import taxes.

As predicted, Trump once again abuses his power to defend his own ego. Meanwhile, other countries scramble to keep up with every U-turn and sudden shift from the far-right US leader. Meanwhile, American citizens might pay the highest price, as Trump’s tariffs send the cost of goods skyrocketing.

As this X account pointed out below:

Trump, harming everyday people? Who knew.

Featured image via the Canary