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Starmer plays down prospect of imposing retaliatory tariffs on US
Starmer is now taking questions.
Q: Would you consider responding with tariffs?
Starmer says he does not want a trade war. He says tariffs would not be in anyone’s interests.
We must find a pragmatic, sensible, sustained way through this, that avoids some of the consequences that will be very serious for our country.
Key events
Starmer avoids question about whether Greenland row should lead to cancellation of King Charles’s visit to US
ITV’s Robert Peston goes next.
Q: It is clear that it has been wrong to assume that Trump respects international law. When will you respond with tariffs? And will you speak to the king about cancelling his planned state visit to the US?
Starmer replied:
As I’ve said, threatening tariffs on allies is the wrong thing to do. Completely wrong. A trade war is not in our interests. And therefore, my first task is to ensure we don’t get to that place, which is what I’m focused on.
He did not address the state visit point.
Starmer plays down prospect of imposing retaliatory tariffs on US
Starmer is now taking questions.
Q: Would you consider responding with tariffs?
Starmer says he does not want a trade war. He says tariffs would not be in anyone’s interests.
We must find a pragmatic, sensible, sustained way through this, that avoids some of the consequences that will be very serious for our country.
Starmer criticises politicians who have responded to Greenland crisis with ‘grandstanding’
Starmer concludes by welcoming the stance taken by Kemi Badenoch on Greenland.
But, he goes on:
[In] moments like this there will always be people who reach for the performative, who think an angry social media post or grandstanding is a substitute for hard work.
That’s an understandable instinct, but it’s not effective. It never has been.
It may make politicians feel good, but it does nothing for working people whose jobs, livelihoods and security rely on the relationships that we build across the world.
This seems to be a jibe at people like Ed Davey and Zack Polanski.
Starmer says he spoke to Trump yesterday.
He welcomes the role he is playing in Gaza, and his efforts to bring peace to Ukraine.
And he says foreign affairs matter to people in the UK.
In today’s world, geopolitics is not something that happens somewhere else. It shapes the cost of energy, the price of food, the security of jobs, and the stability that families rely on to plan their lives.
Starmer restates his view that Trump’s tariff threats over Greenland ‘completely wrong’
Starmer says Trump’s threat to impose tariffs on Nato allies over this is “completely wrong”.
Denmark is a close ally of the United Kingdom and of the United States, a proud Nato member that is stood shoulder to shoulder with us, including at real human cost.
In recent decades, alliances endure because they’re built on respect and partnership, not pressure.
That is why I said the use of tariffs against allies is completely wrong.
It is not the right way to resolve differences within an alliance, nor is it helpful to frame efforts to strengthen Greenland security as a justification for economic pressure.
Such measures hurt British workers, British businesses and the British economy.
And that is why I’ve been so clear on this issue. A trade war is in no one’s interest, and my job is always to act in the UK’s national interest.
Starmer says Greenland’s future must be decided by Greenland and Denmark ‘alone’
But, Starmer says, the future of Greenland is for a matter for Denmark and Greenland to decide on their own.
There is a principle here that cannot be set aside, because it goes to the heart of how stable and trusted international cooperation works.
And so any decision about the future status of Greenland belongs to the people of Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark alone. That right is fundamental and we support it.
Starmer calls for ‘calm discussion’ on future of Greenland
Turning to Greenland, Starmer calls for a calm discussion.
On Greenland, the right way to approach an issue of this seriousness is through calm discussion between allies.
And let’s be clear, the security of Greenland matters, and it will matter more as climate change reshapes the Arctic, as sea routes open and strategic competition intensifies.
The High North will require greater attention, greater investment and stronger collective defence.
Starmer says a close relationship with the US delivers concrete outcomes for the UK.
Our cooperation on defence, nuclear capability and intelligence remains as close and effective as anywhere in the world, keeping Britain safe in an increasingly dangerous environment.
We’ve secured good trading terms in key sectors, including cars, steel, aerospace and life sciences, protecting British jobs and manufacturers.
That is why we take the approach that we do, because it delivers concrete outcomes in the national interest.
Starmer says he is determined to keep UK-US relationship ‘strong, constructive and focused on results’
Keir Starmer is speaking now.
He says the world has become more turbulent. Events are moving fast.
At moments like this, what matters is being clear about the values that guide us.
He says the UK will defend those values.
Starting with the US, he says the US and the UK “are close allies and close partners”.
He says he is determined to keep that relationship “strong, constructive and focused on results”.
Zack Polanski says UK can no longer basis its security policy on being ‘America’s poodle’
When Zack Polanski was elected Green party leader, he was widely criticised for expressing doubts about Nato. Donald Trump’s Greenland threats have arguabkly vindicated his position. In an article in the New Statesman, he says the UK should cut security links with the US. He says:
It’s now terrifyingly clear that betting our entire national security on being America’s poodle will simply not be a tenable situation for much longer. So the question is, what do we do about it?
First, we need to disentangle our security apparatus from the USA so that we are genuinely independent. As a first step, the government should urgently review how we can remove US bases from British soil while maintaining our own security – and retaining our ability to support our allies in Ukraine. There are currently thirteen US military bases in the UK operated by an estimated 10,000 personnel. If Trump were to take military action against Greenland, we need to be able to act fast to peacefully and quickly remove America’s military presence from our country. The government should also cancel its £240m deal with US firm Palantir, signed despite MPs raising serious security concerns about the company.
In the article, Polanski also says the UK should ditch Trident, and carry out “a genuine security review that takes into account the serious threats facing the UK today”, such as the climate crisis.
Lib Dems urge Starmer to join EU in imposing retaliatory tariffs in response to Trump’s ‘act of economic thuggery’
Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, has reiterated his call for the UK to join the EU in imposing retaliatory tariffs on the US. In a statement this morning he said:
Donald Trump’s attempt to ransom us over the sovereignty of a Nato ally is an act of economic thuggery that cannot go unanswered. The prime minister’s strategy of appeasement has failed. We must show the White House that the UK will not be bullied into submission while our industries are targeted and our sovereign allies are threatened.
The government must immediately cancel the £3bn ‘Trump tax’ on our NHS. We should not be handing over billions in pharmaceutical ransom payments while our own health and care services are in crisis. We should also swiftly coordinate with our European partners to prepare a robust package of retaliatory tariffs and measures to hit Trump and his cronies where it hurts.
Britain is strongest when we stand tall with our neighbours, not when we act as a doormat for a bully. We need to lead a coalition of the willing in Europe to protect our interests and defend our values. It is time to show Donald Trump that neither the UK economy nor Greenland are his playthings.
Stock markets fall as Trump renews tariff threats
Most of the Guardian live blogs are focused on the Trump Greenland crisis today.
On the business live blog, Lauren Almeida says stock markets are falling in Europe in response. She wrote about an hour ago”
Investors in Europe are spooked: futures for the continent’s European Stoxx 50 index are down 1.51%. Futures for the UK’s FTSE 100 blue chip index are down 0.48%, while the French Cac 40 is posed to fall 2.1% and the German Dax pointing to a 1.35% drop at the open.
In Asia, the picture has been more mixed as investors digested reports from China that its economy expanded at a 5% annual pace in 2025, though it slowed in the last quarter. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 slipped 0.7%.
Oil prices and the dollar are falling too. Brent crude is down 0.73% to $63.66 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate is down 0.61% to $59.08 a barrel. The US Dollar index, which tracks the dollar against a basket of other major currencies, is down 0.23%.
Jakub Krupa is covering this on his Europe live blog too.
How Starmer told Trump in call yesterday applying tariffs on allies for pursuing collective security ‘wrong’
Yesterday Keir Starmer spoke about the Greenland crisis to Donald Trump, the US president, Mette Frederiksen, the Danish PM, Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, and Mark Rutte, the Nato secretary general, in separate phone calls.
This is what Downing Street said in a readbout covering all four calls.
The prime minister had a number of calls with leaders this afternoon …
In all his calls, the prime minister reiterated his position on Greenland. He said that security in the High North is a priority for all Nato allies in order to protect Euro-Atlantic interests.
He also said that applying tariffs on allies for pursuing the collective security of Nato allies is wrong.
Starmer’s call with Trump was “short and cordial”, according to Sky.
Here is an extract from an analysis of the Greenland crisis by Patrick Wintour, the Guardian’s diplomatic editor.
Keir Starmer, his fate increasingly tied with Europe, has not yet said if the UK will retaliate, but the benefits of Brexit are rapidly evaporating. His trade agreement with the US, announced with fanfare last year, has not yet been signed. The indefinite postponement risks weakening his position in the Labour party. He has rebuffed those who argue for the UK to join the EU customs union, by saying it would be impossible as it would undermine the UK trade deal with the US. With no trade deal, and an extra 10% blanket tariffs on UK imports, that argument looks threadbare.
Moreover in the wider – and perennial – Churchillian choice for the UK between the values of the open sea, represented by the US, and those of Europe, the case for the open sea has been dealt yet another blow. When Bronwen Maddox, the director of Chatham House, the voice of the UK foreign policy elite, declared last week that the western alliance was over, one can be sure similar views are being expressed privately in the UK Foreign Office.
And here is the full article.
The EU faces a similar dilemma too. Jennifer Rankin has written about that in her analysis.
Here is her conclusion.
When Trump introduced his so-called liberation day tariffs in 2025, European leaders denounced them as “wrong”, harmful, mutually destructive and pledged a “robust response”. In the end divisions among the 27 member states and determination to shelter national industries from Trump’s countermeasures put the EU on the path of appeasement rather than confrontation. As the 80-year-old transatlantic relationship goes through epoch-defining changes, the next few weeks will reveal whether this time is different.
Starmer to hold press conference amid Trump threats
Good morning. Less than two weeks ago David Lammy, the foreign secretary, was in the US where, at an event to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the American declaration of independence, a time capsule was buried including a letter from Lammy saying:
The relationship between our two nations has never been stronger. Over our long history together, the United Kingdom and the United States have become the closest of allies, united by shared values and mutual respect.
It would be nice to think that the time capsule, due to be opened in 2276 (the 500th anniversary), includes another, private letter from Lammy saying that he knew this wasn’t true and that he was only saying it to suck up to the Maga crowd. But never mind; Donald Trump has exposed the falsehood himself.
After a year of avoiding saying almost anything critical of the US president, Trump’s threat to impose tariffs on Nato allies that have objected to his (illegal) plan to annex Greenland has prompted Keir Starmer to finally speak out. Trump’s proposal is “completely wrong”, he has said. As Peter Walker reports in our overnight story, Starmer also made this point when he spoke to Trump yesterday.
Starmer is holding a press conference in Downing Street soon where he will set out his response in more detail.
According to briefing overnight, Starmer is not planning a full Love Actually moment. He is not expected to threaten drastic retaliation, Macron-style, and he will not accept that the rupture is permanent. “Now it is time to lower the temperature and for cooler heads to promote diplomatic off-ramps — expect that to be the UK’s focus this week,” a senior British official told Politico.
Maybe that is the right approach. But this is set to be the biggest crisis of the week – or maybe of the year, or even the decade – and there are plenty of people in UK politics who would like Starmer to be more robust.
Here is the agenda for the day,
9.15am: Keir Starmer holds a press conference in Downing Street about Donald Trump’s threats to Greenland.
Morning: Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, is on a visit in the City of London.
2.30pm: Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, takes questions in the Commons.
After 3.30pm: MPs are likely to be pushing for an urgent question, or ministerial statement, on the Trump tariff threats relating to Greenland, but nothing has been confirmed yet.
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