Brexit saved the UK from higher US tariffs according to a majority of voters. Donald Trump’s decision to impose tariffs of 10% on the UK compared to 20% on EU countries was a benefit of Brexit, a new poll by More in Common found. It found 57% of voters believed the lower tariff is “a benefit of leaving the European Union”.
And even 56% of people who voted Remain in the 2016 agree - although most of them still think Brexit was a bad idea. The new poll also found British voters want the UK to follow the lead of other nations and retaliate against US President Donald Trump’s tariffs. And fewer than half of British voters now think the US is an ally of the UK, with traditional rival France now more trusted than America.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has vowed to “keep calm and fight for the best deal with the US” after America imposed tariffs of 10% on UK goods, and 25% tariffs on specific products such as cars from any part of the world. He said nothing should be “off the table”, suggesting the UK has not entirely ruled out retaliatory tariffs on UK goods, but the Government has also made it clear that it hopes to avoid a trade war and instead wants to sign a deal with the US that could reduce tariffs.
Polling found 51% of UK voters want the UK to retaliate with tariffs of its own, with just 27% opposed.
Just 43% of voters say the US is an ally of the UK. This is still far higher than the number who class the US as an enemy, 15% of voters, but marks a shift away from the traditional view that the US is our closest ally. By contrast, 61% say France is an ally.
Mr Trump’s tariffs sent financial markets into meltdown across the world, with the UK FTSE down 9.3% over five days and the US S&P down 9.6% but London’s financial markets recovered some ground on Tuesday morning after days of market turmoil spurred by President Donald Trump’s tariff plans.
Markets across Europe were in positive territory during early trading as sentiment calmed. London’s FTSE 100 was firmly higher after trading opened, but was still almost 10% lower since Wednesday, after a dismal week for City stocks.
The index of London’s biggest publicly-listed firms was 1.8% higher at 7,839.2 points on Tuesday morning. Aerospace and defence stocks led the risers on the index, with Rolls-Royce and BAE Systems making notable gains.
All other indexes on the London Stock Exchange were also in the green.
It follows a more positive session for Asian markets, with Hong Kong’s influential Hang Seng index up 1.5% and Japan’s Nikkei up 6%. Elsewhere in Europe, Germany’s Dax index was up 0.85% for the morning, while the French Cac 40 was 0.82% higher.
“After multiple punishing sessions, stock markets appear to have started their road to recovery,” says Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell. “These are small wins in terms of asset movements but big wins for the state of the broader market given the bloodbath we’ve endured since ‘Liberation Day’ last week.
“The stabilising of markets will be welcomed with open arms.”
The improvement comes after a torrid week for the financial markets after President Trump’s “Liberation Day” announcement on Wednesday that he will introduce sweeping tariff increases for dozens of countries.
