Keir Starmer has ruled out imposing retaliatory tariffs on the US, saying they would be the “wrong thing to do”, after Donald Trump threatened them against Nato allies to try to secure Greenland.
The prime minister said US tariffs would damage the British economy and were “in no one’s interests”. The UK would instead prefer to address the issue through “calm discussion” between allies, he added.
But at an emergency press conference in Downing Street, he said that despite Trump’s threats, he did not think the US president was genuinely considering taking military action in the Arctic territory.
“I think that this can be resolved, and should be resolved, through calm discussion,” he said.
“Any decision about the future status of Greenland belongs to the people of Greenland and the kingdom of Denmark alone. That right is fundamental,” he continued.
Answering questions after a brief speech, Starmer repeatedly stressed what he said was the vital importance of US cooperation in areas such as intelligence and the nuclear deterrent, as well as on Ukraine.
“The last thing that we should do is to simply throw all that away and pretend that it doesn’t matter any more. It does matter, but we don’t do that by pretending we haven’t got differences,” he said.
Starmer said he was determined to keep the UK-US relationship “strong, constructive and focused on results”, adding that defence and security ties between the two countries were in the national interest.
But he added: “Threatening tariffs on allies is the wrong thing to do, completely wrong.”
Starmer’s opening remarks were carefully phrased but very strongly reiterated the UK’s vehement rejection of Trump’s suggestion that the US should annex or purchase Greenland, and condemned the threat of tariffs against eight European nations intended to pressure them over Greenland.
“There is a principle here that cannot be set aside because it goes to the heart of how stable and trusted international cooperation works,” he said.
“And so any decision about the future status of Greenland belongs to the people of Greenland and the kingdom of Denmark alone. That right is fundamental, and we will support it.”
Starmer went on to say that in calls on Sunday with Trump, as well as European and Nato leaders, he had insisted on the need for “a solution rooted in partnership, facts and mutual respect”.
The firm stance could place Starmer on a collision course with the US.
But Starmer told reporters: “A trade war is not in our interests, and therefore my first task is to ensure we don’t get to that place, which is what I’m focused on at the moment …
“I don’t want to lose sight of the central goal here, which is to avoid the seriousness that a trade war would bring.”
He added: “We must find a pragmatic, sensible, sustained way through this, that avoids some of the consequences that will be very serious for our country.”
Starmer defended his diplomatic approach to Trump, despite growing pressure at home to condemn him more forcefully, underlining the security relationship.
“I do emphasise, whatever the understandable reaction of the British public over the weekend, it is – on defence and security and intelligence and nuclear capability – manifestly in our interests to have a strong relationship with the US.”
But he added: “Alliances endure because they’re built on respect and partnership, not pressure, that is why I said the use of tariffs against allies is completely wrong.
“Strong, respectful alliances require the maturity to say where we disagree, and on this we disagree, and I’ve been clear about that, and I’ve spoken to the president about it and will continue to do so.”
Asked whether he understood why many Britons might see attempts to cooperate with Trump as pointless, Starmer did not dismiss the idea.
“I completely understand why what President Trump said about tariffs over the weekend has been so badly received in this country,” he said.
“It’s important that that is met with me setting out as prime minister of the United Kingdom what our principles and values are in response to that, and not pretending that we don’t have differences.”
