Ed Davey urges Starmer to join new EU customs union to defend against Trump tariffs
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It comes as a leading think tank urged the prime minister to boost trade defences to deter against economic threats from Donald Trump. Ed Davey will urge Sir Keir Starmer to negotiate a UK-EU customs union to “turbocharge the economy” and strengthen the UK’s hand against possible tariffs from president-elect Donald Trump.
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Giving a speech in London on Thursday, the Liberal Democrat leader will say such a deal would help the UK to negotiate with Mr Trump “from a position of strength”. He will also criticise Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch for wanting to go “cap in hand” to the new US president and “beg for whatever trade deal he’ll give us”, as well as taking a swipe at Reform UK leader Nigel Farage for “fawning over Trump and licking his boots”.
Mr Farage is “more interested in advancing Trump’s agenda over here than the UK’s interests over there”, Sir Ed is expected to tell an audience in London in his first major speech of the year. It comes as a leading thinktank urged the prime minister to boost trade defences to deter against economic threats from the president-elect.
A new report from the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) calls for urgent reforms to navigate Mr Trump’s presidency, warning that “global trade faces a new era of turbulence”. In the run-up to his election, the Republican promised to implement 10 to 20 per cent tariffs on all goods coming into the country – a figure that rises to 60 per cent for those from China.
