Threat of Trump trade war looms over Starmer’s meeting with EU leaders

WASHINGTON: Keir Starmer’s meeting with EU chiefs threatens to be overshadowed by the threat of an international trade war as countries hit by Donald Trump’s tariffs vow retaliation.

The UK prime minister will urge Europe to bear down on Vladimir Putin’s Russia when he meets the heads of the 27 EU governments on Monday, as he continues efforts to reset Britain’s relationship with the trade bloc.

But the gathering, meant to focus on defence co-operation, is likely to be preoccupied with news from across the Atlantic.

The US president has announced he will impose 25% trade taxes on goods coming from America’s nearest neighbours and largest trade partners – Canada and Mexico – as well as a 10% levy on Chinese goods.

All three nations have vowed to respond in kind to Trump’s actions, sparking fears of a global trade war.

Starmer will urge EU countries to shoulder more of the burden of aid for Ukraine at the meeting in Belgium.

He will call on them to follow UK and US sanctions on Russia’s faltering economy and praise Trump’s threat of further restrictions, which he will claim has ‘rattled’ President Putin.

The prime minister will also meet Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte at the alliance’s headquarters in Brussels.

‘I’m here to work with our European partners on keeping up the pressure, targeting the energy revenues and the companies supplying his missile factories to crush Putin’s war machine,’ Starmer said.

‘Because ultimately, alongside our military support, that is what will bring peace closer.’

EU officials have started drawing up contingency plans for the threat of US tariffs, and representatives of the bloc are bullish about the prospect of a face-off with America, the Telegraph reported.

But Starmer was more cautious when asked about Trump’s actions, telling reporters on Sunday: ‘It is early days. What I want to see is strong trading relations.’

The prime minister added: ‘In the discussions that I have had with President Trump, that is what we have centred on, a strong trading relationship.’