Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey has called for the UK to stand up to Donald Trump, branding the US president a “bully”. In a speech to his party’s spring conference in Harrogate, Sir Ed urged the prime minister to agree a co-ordinated response to US tariffs with the European Union and Canada. Trump has promised a raft of new tariffs on 2 April, while the UK has already been affected by a 25% tariff on all steel and aluminium imports. Sir Ed said the UK should “hit back with tariffs of our own”, starting with taxes on imports of Tesla electric cars, the company run by Elon Musk, who is now also a senior adviser to Trump. Canada and the EU have both announced retaliatory tariffs on the US. In contrast, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has so far resisted doing so, instead saying he will take a “pragmatic approach”, while keeping all options on the table. The US and UK are in talks over a potential trade deal, which Trump has said could avoid the need for tariffs. Sir Ed, who has been a vocal critic of Trump, said the UK must deal with the US president “from a position of strength, not weakness”. He compared Trump to a “bully” and said the UK should “stand up, stand tough, stand together with our friends, make clear that an attack on one is an attack on all”.
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