Donald Trump branded 'America's Liz Truss' as Keir Starmer plans defence against tariff crisis

Keir Starmer will unveil his plan to protect Britain’s economy against the shockwaves from ’s tariff bombshell - as the US President was branded “America’s ”.

The Prime Minister will make a series of ‘interventions’, starting on Monday - vowing to go further and faster with infrastructure projects and a push for growth to steel ourselves against Trump’s trade war. Monday’s intervention will come after Mr Starmer spends the weekend speaking to leaders about how best to tackle the unfolding crisis.

The first direct effects of the announcement of blanket tariffs of at least 10% on all imports to the US are starting to emerge.

Video game giants Nintendo announced they would pause pre-orders for their new Switch 2 console in the US, while they assessed the impact of tariffs. And Trump’s additional 25% import tax on cars prompted Jaguar Land Rover to pause exports to the US worth £6.5bn last night (SAT) for at least two weeks.

Meanwhile American stocks plummeted at a rate not seen since the Pandemic in the days following Trump’s announcement. But the US President has shown no indication he’s willing to back down. “MY POLICIES WILL NEVER CHANGE,” he wrote in a social media post on Friday.

The stock market shock - and his refusal to budge on policies that have been derided as economically illiterate - have led to comparisons with Liz Truss, Britain’s worst ever Prime Minister. Even the New York Times made the link between Trump’s tariff turmoil and Ms Truss’ disastrous mini-budget in today's edition.

"Donald Trump's tariffs are such a needless act of economic self-destruction it makes you wonder if he's hired Liz Truss as his economic adviser," Lib Dem leader Ed Davey said. "You can certainly see why Truss is such a fan of Trump, she must be delighted to see someone as willing to take a wrecking ball to people's jobs and living standards as she was."

And MP Neil Coyle added: “Trump is at risk of damaging the US economy in the same way as Truss damaged the UK.”

Britain still hopes to be able to secure a reduction in tariffs through ongoing negotiations with White House officials. But the events of last week are said to have have hardened Mr Starmer’s resolve to shore up the economy against the fallout - believing it’s only through being competitive domestically that Britain is less exposed to similar global shocks.

Chris Curtis, the Milton Keynes MP who co-chairs the Labour Growth Group, agreed, telling the : “The stronger the headwinds, the harder we have to push for growth. That means being bolder, cutting through red tape, and giving government the tools it needs to unlock investment, and create good jobs."

announced a 34% tax on imports of US goods in retaliation at the rate imposed by the US President in his "Liberation Day" tariff blitz. EU leaders are said to be drawing up plans for a ‘big bazooka’ of revenge tariffs.

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And Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds launched a consultation on Thursday to ask businesses leaders for ideas about how to respond.

Mr Starmer was keen to present a ‘cool and calm’ response to overseas allies in calls over the weekend.

But it’s understood he’s yet to speak to President Trump since Wednesday’s announcement - and was not expected to speak to him tonight.

Posting on his own Truth Social network yesterday (SAT), while attending a tournament at his resort in Florida, President Trump wrote: "THIS IS AN ECONOMIC REVOLUTION, AND WE WILL WIN. HANG TOUGH, it won’t be easy, but the end result will be historic. We will, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!"