Keir Starmer trusts Donald Trump to keep his word over trade tariffs, Downing Street has said.
It comes after the US president suggested he thinks a deal can be “worked out” to avoid slapping tariffs on the UK.
Trump suggested in comments overnight that he is poised to expand his tariff regime to both the UK and the EU, but added that he thinks a deal can be done with Britain.
Asked by the BBC early on Monday if he will target the UK with tariffs, Trump said: “UK is out of line but I’m sure that one… I think that one can be worked out.”
The US president also said discussions with Starmer have “been very nice”, adding: “We’ve had a couple of meetings. We’ve had numerous phone calls. We’re getting along very well.”
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman was asked if Starmer believes he can trust Trump to keep his word.
“Yes, the Prime Minister has had a really constructive early set of conversations with President Trump, and looks forward to working with him to deepen our trade, investment, security and defence relationship,” he said.
UK ministers have previously suggested the UK could avoid US tariffs because America does not have a trade deficit with Britain. Downing Street said the US is an “indispensable ally” to the UK.
“We’ve got a fair and balanced trading relationship which benefits both sides of the Atlantic,” No 10 said. “It’s worth around £300 billion and we are each other’s single largest investors, with £1.2 trillion invested in each other’s economies,” the spokesman said.
The US president said tariffs will “definitely” be placed on goods from the EU, saying America’s trade deficit with the bloc is “an atrocity” that means “they take almost nothing and we take everything from them”.
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