Rachel Reeves warned the impact of Donald Trump‘s tariffs could be ‘profound’, as global markets calmed after days of turmoil caused by the US president. 

The Chancellor told MPs she would be meeting her US counterpart, treasury secretary Scott Bessent ‘shortly’ to discuss the impact of the president’s protectionism. 

UK stocks rose slightly this morning, with the FTSE 100 up almost 2 per cent, but still far below where it was before last week’s decision by Trump to bring in an import taxes.

It follows a more positive session for Asian markets overnight, with some indexes making gains after suffering from steep falls in previous days.

The Chancellor said the Government would remain ‘pragmatic’ as it looks into a deal with the United States, telling MPs: ‘This Government is clear-eyed that our response to global change cannot be to watch and wait, but instead to act decisively, to take the right decisions that are in our national interest.’

She added: ‘I know that the challenges facing the global economy and the potential impact could be profound, and as a Government we must step up to that challenge to deliver security for working people.’

Keir Starmer today insisted Donald Trump’s tariffs were not a ‘temporary passing phase’ but part of a ‘changing world order’.

Asked if the Government could intervene to prevent recession, similar to steps taken during the Covid pandemic, the Prime Minister emphasised ministers were prioritising support that was ‘more in the nature of breaking down barriers that are in the way’ rather than spending cash.

Meanwhile a new poll suggests voters are against Sir Keir Starmer‘s method of fighting the 10 per cent tariff levied on UK exports to the US.

The Chancellor told MPs she would be meeting her US counterpart, treasury secretary Scott Bessent ‘shortly’ to discuss the impact of the president’s protectionism.

UK stocks rose this morning as a sense of calm returned to the market after days of turmoil caused by Donald Trump.

More than half of those polled by More in Common back retaliatory tariffs on US goods entering Britain, instead of quiet diplomacy.

And they appear to be against any major concessions by ministers to achieve a free trade deal with the US that would remove the tariffs.  

Trump last night narrowed his tared focus on China, threatening tariffs of more than 100 per cent despite mounting pressure from allies to halt his trade war as trillions more were wiped off markets.

Beijing said it would impose its own 34 per cent levy on imports of American goods as a retaliatory measure to last week’s tolls.

The tit-for-tat could take the US tariff rate on China to 104 per cent, and could be reflected when Wall St opened at 2.30pm UK time.

Sir Keir Starmer will face MPs this afternoon, appearing before the Liaison Committee of senior MPs on the last day the Commons sits before it heads into the Easter break.

The next stage of the US president’s tariff programme comes into force in the early hours of Wednesday, with import taxes at 20 per cent for goods from European Union nations and 24 per cent from Japan.

The UK Government is pushing for a deal with the White House in the hope of easing the 10 per cent tariff on US imports of British goods, along with a 25 per cent tariff on cars and separate import taxes for steel and aluminium.

The impact of Mr Trump’s tariffs is likely to be on the agenda for the Liaison Committee, where Sir Keir may also be questioned about the war in Ukraine, conflict in the Middle East, and the US president’s announcement that America will hold direct talks with Iran about its nuclear programme.

But Mr Streeting told the BBC ‘the NHS is not for sale and our patients’ data is not for sale’ as part of any deal with the US. 

Trump last night narrowed his tared focus on China, threatening tariffs of more than 100 per cent despite mounting pressure from allies to halt his trade war as trillions more were wiped off markets.

US tariffs provide ‘another layer of challenge’ for ensuring the supply of medicines, the Health Secretary warned this morning.

Wes Streeting told Sky News: ‘Until this trade war erupted, we’d already had issues with medicines production and supply internationally.

‘We are constantly watching and acting on this situation to try and get medicines into the country, to make sure we’ve got availability, to show some flexibility in terms of how medicines are dispensed, to deal with shortages.

‘But whether it’s medicines, whether it’s parts for manufacturing, whether it’s … the ability of businesses in this country to turn a profit, this is an extremely turbulent situation.’

The steps the US has taken are ‘unprecedented in terms of global trade’, he said.

‘As ever in terms of medicines, there’s a number of factors at play.

‘There have been challenges in terms of manufacturing, challenges in terms of distribution, and if we start to see tariffs kicking in, that’s another layer of challenge, but we watch this situation extremely closely.’

‘We work on a daily basis to make sure that we have the medicine supply this country needs.’