Donald Trump’s election will make Brexit even more painful for Britain

UK trade is in a dangerous predicament, says Chris Blackhurst, and both Labour and the Tories must share the blame

Oh, to be a fly on the wall in President Trump’s Oval Office when the request arrives from Britain not to impose extra trade tariffs.

Rachel Reeves has said she will make “strong representations” about the harm such a protectionist measure would inflict. During his election campaign, Donald Trump said “tariffs” was his favourite word and he repeatedly floated the possibility of increasing levies by up to 60 per cent on goods imported from China and 10 per cent for the rest of the world.

Some say Trump is not a vindictive type, that he does not bear grudges. Others, who also profess to know him, are not so sure. Whatever. His face, when the UK pleads for some sort of special treatment, will almost certainly break into a smile.

As to whether he would follow through with an increase, any increase, it’s impossible to say. But the very fact Britain has got itself into this situation, of effectively having to beg for mercy, speaks volumes about the short-sightedness of its new government.

In a two-horse race, they staked all their bets on one horse.

More than 100 Labour staffers answered an email from the party’s head of operations and flew to assist Kamala Harris’s effort, prompting a charge of “blatant foreign interference” from the Trump camp. When the Republicans complained, Sir Keir Starmer had every opportunity to apologise and call the Labour workers back but he didn’t. He correctly pointed out they were volunteering in their own time, not that Trump’s camp was listening.

Senior Labour figures have also made plain their hostility towards the Republican candidate, not least the foreign secretary, David Lammy, who in the past has called Trump a “serial liar” and “wannabe despot”. Also, from Lammy: “If Trump did GCSEs, he wouldn’t make it to sixth form” and the soon-to-be 47th US president is a “neo-Nazi-sympathising sociopath” and a “troll” who is “truly beneath contempt”.

Donald Trump campaigned on a platform of protectionism (Reuters)

Talk about how to win friends. Starmer maintains that he and Trump held a convivial dinner when they met in New York in September. But Trump did not hold power then, he does now.

So, we’re being treated to the spectacle of Starmer emphasising the strong bond between the two countries and how ‘crucial’ the relationship is. Even this risks conveying the wrong tone, smacking of telling something to a person who, if form is any guide, does not always take kindly to being told.

Whether Trump sees through his threat to impose customs charges is of course another matter. There is a school of thought that maintains he likes to be bold in public but in private, once the ramifications are explained, may choose to moderate his stance. If he raised the bar against China for instance, it’s quite possible that Beijing would strike back with restrictions of its own, which would only damage US interests.

As for the UK, there is little we can do to hurt him; our businesses are far more reliant on the US than theirs on us.

Tories have been quick to seize upon the hole in which Labour find themselves. They accuse Starmer and his colleagues of displaying a lack of foresight and they’re milking the embarrassment for all its worth.

They, too, miss a fundamental point, which is that Trump can behave like he does, throwing up barriers to entry because the US has the resources it requires to be entirely self-sufficient. An efficient US economic engine, its companies firing on all cylinders, needs nothing from anyone. In fact, by making imports more costly Trump would be encouraging US businesses to raise their game.

The vast nation contains 350 million people, enough to satisfy corporate sales forces. They can fulfil all their production necessities without going abroad.

While they ridicule Starmer and co, the Tories choose to ignore that the UK also belonged to a free trading bloc, one that was even bigger than the US, with 450m inhabitants. That was the EU, and it was also able to service the UK’s requirements and provide a ready export market for the UK’s businesses.

We threw that away with Brexit. Accepted Tory wisdom has it that the failure to capitalise on the so-called opportunities presented by exiting was down to Labour and others trying to overturn the EU referendum outcome.

Really? When the UK left it was promised bilateral free trade deals. Two, especially, were regarded as major and hugely advantageous: the US and India. Neither has materialised.

Under Joe Biden, a pact with the US never appeared close. Under the new president, one who has made protectionism his beat, its prospects are nowhere. The failure to strike an agreement was not down to those seeking to wreck Brexit. No draft treaty was put before parliament, there was nothing to shoot down. During that period, the Tories were in charge and they failed to follow through on Brexit and deliver.

Britain was ill-served by them, and under Labour has got off to a rocky start where relations with the White House are concerned. Both parties must shoulder the blame for this perilous situation. Britain deserves much better.