SIR KEIR Starmer spoke to Donald Trump last night amid the looming threat of tariffs on all British goods. The Prime Minister used the call to discuss the pair’s meeting in America which is expected later this month. It was also the first time for the two leaders to talk since Mr Trump’s call with Vladimir Putin where it was agreed talks should begin to end the Ukraine war. The phone call came as the US President said he would impose tariffs on countries that charge VAT - leaving the UK exposed and at risk of a £24 billion blow to the economy.
![[President Trump signing executive orders in the Oval Office.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/epa11894016-us-president-donald-trump-971749032.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
The move from Washington DC would be a bitter blow to Downing Street as growth only hit 0.1 per cent for the last three months of last year. Starmer and Trump held the call while the President’s Special Envoy to the UK Mark Burnett held talks with the PM in Number 10. Downing Street said: “Mr Burnett and the Prime Minister agreed on the unique and special nature of the UK-US relationship, the strength of our alliance and the warmth of the connection between the two countries.”.
The statement added: “They emphasised the huge potential for even stronger collaboration on trade, tech and cultural matters between the US and the UK and looked forward to working together.”. Mr Trump and Sir Keir have spoken several times on the phone in recent months. Starmer spoke to Trump after an assassination attempt on his life while on the campaign trail near Butler, Pennsylvania. The PM and Foreign Secretary David Lammy held a dinner with Mr Trump in New York back in September.
Trump has spoken warmly of the PM saying he is doing a “very good job” since he came to power last July and that they have a “very good relationship”. Speaking back in January aboard Air Force One, Mr Trump said: “ I get along with him well. I like him a lot. “He’s liberal, which is a bit different from me, but I think he’s a very good person and I think he’s done a very good job thus far.
“He’s represented his country in terms of philosophy. I may not agree with his philosophy, but I have a very good relationship with him.”. Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform after his call with the Russian leader that they have “agreed to have our respective teams start negotiations immediately”. He also said: “It is time to stop this ridiculous War, where there has been massive, and totally unnecessary, DEATH and DESTRUCTION. God bless the people of Russia and Ukraine!”.
