Sir Keir Starmer will hold an emergency press conference on Britain’s response to Donald Trump’s latest tariff threats, after warning the US president in a Sunday night phone call that the move was “wrong”.
Mr Trump announced on Saturday that the UK would be among eight countries charged a 10 per cent tariff “on any and all goods” sent to the US from February 1, increased to 25 per cent from June 1, until a deal is reached for Washington to purchase Greenland from Denmark.
A joint statement from the eight nations - which also includes Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden - warned the tariffs would “undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral”.
A Downing Street spokesperson said Sir Keir told Trump that “applying tariffs on allies for pursuing the collective security of NATO allies is wrong”.
EU countries are now considering whether to impose retaliatory tariffs worth €93bn (£80bn), after a meeting of EU ambassadors from the 27 countries in Brussels on Sunday.
Sir Keir is likely to face questions on the government’s approach to dealing with the increasingly volatile US administration, amid growing calls for the prime minister to stand up to Mr Trump.
As the prime minister battles devastating approval ratings and growing questions over the direction of the government’s domestic agenda, he will be hoping he can regain a grip on the narrative surrounding his foreign policy after the US president appeared to blindside world leaders on Saturday.
Sir Keir will use the press conference to set out the UK’s approach to working with its allies and reiterate Britain’s commitment to Nato, Downing Street sources said.
“He will make clear his determination to work at home and abroad to protect the security, living standards, and future of the British people”, they added.
Sir Keir - who also spoke to Danish PM Mette Frederiksen, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte on Sunday afternoon - used the phone call to reiterate his position on Greenland, telling the US president that “security in the High North is a priority for all NATO allies”.
It comes after the UK and seven other affected European countries warned that US tariff threats over the future of Greenland.
In a joint statement on Sunday, the countries said they will “stand united and coordinated” in their response.
"We will always protect our strategic economic and security interests," EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said in a post on X. "We will face these challenges to our European solidarity with steadiness and resolve."
Brussels hopes the retaliatory tariff measures, which were discussed during a meeting of EU ambassadors on Sunday, will provide European leaders leverage in pivotal meetings with Mr Trump at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week.
On the Sunday media round, culture secretary Lisa Nandy said the UK needs to have an "adult debate" with the US. She told the BBC's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg: "Often, with this particular US administration, the president will express a very strong view. He will then encourage a dialogue.
"He welcomes difference of opinion, and we will never shy away from standing up for what we believe is right, or asserting British interests. And what often happens is a negotiation."
But she rejected the possibility that Mr Trump would "chicken out" and back away from the threat, adding: “I think this is actually a really serious issue, and I think it deserves a far more adult debate than us threatening the United States and the United States threatening us."
Earlier this week, the UK confirmed it had sent a military officer to Greenland as Denmark stepped up its military presence in the Arctic and High North.
Downing Street said they were sent at Denmark’s request to join a reconnaissance group ahead of a planned Arctic endurance exercise, but denied it amounted to a “deployment”.
But Mr Trump said the countries were playing a “very dangerous game”.
He said it was “time for Denmark to give back”, adding: “China and Russia want Greenland, and there is not a thing that Denmark can do about it.
In a statement on Saturday, Sir Keir reiterated that Greenland is “part of the Kingdom of Denmark and its future is a matter for the Greenlanders and the Danes”.
“We have also made clear that Arctic Security matters for the whole of Nato and allies should all do more together to address the threat from Russia across different parts of the Arctic”, he added.
“Applying tariffs on allies for pursuing the collective security of Nato allies is completely wrong. We will of course be pursuing this directly with the US administration.”
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