Donald Trump's 25 per cent tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada took effect on Tuesday, along with fresh duties on Chinese goods.
As US stock markets swoon at the prospect of a full-blown trade war, the President has signalled more tariffs are in the offing, such as 25 per cent tariffs on imports from the European Union (EU), which Trump claims was "formed to screw the United States".
With the continent coming in the crosshairs, Facts4EU has shared three charts exclusively with GB News that serve as a powerful reminder of why Brexit Britain should be exempt from the President's punitive actions.
Below we take a look at each one closely and examine what they mean for both Britain and its nearest trading partner
The US enjoys a trade surplus with Britain, as we import more goods from the US than we export
Facts4EU
Trump's rationale for enforcing tariffs on countries like Canada, Mexico, and China is rooted in his desire to address perceived trade imbalances and protect American industries.
He aims to "level the playing field" by using tariffs as a tool to encourage domestic manufacturing and counteract what he views as unfair trade practices.
These unfair trade practices are partly informed by geopolitical tensions, but primarily by who runs trade surpluses with the United States — meaning who exports more than imports.
Trump seeks to redress this imbalance by getting more countries to buy American goods while encouraging more goods to be made and sold domestically. One way he plans to do this is by raising the cost of imported goods to America.
As the chart above shows, that's why the EU could be about to get a walloping. The bloc exports more to the US than it imports, resulting in a trade surplus for the EU in goods trade and a huge deficit for Uncle Sam amounting to the tune of $150billion per year.
Meanwhile, the US enjoys a trade surplus with Britain as we import more goods from the US than we export. Trump enjoys a trade surplus with Britain that amounts to $15billion per year.
Brexit Britain is more shielded from US sanctions than the EU, as the latter is far more reliant on goods from Russia.
Facts4EU
In the immediate aftermath of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the US announced crippling sanctions on Russia.
The "first tranche" of sanctions targeted Russia’s financial sector, including major banks like VTB and Sberbank, freezing over £1trillion in Russian assets held overseas, and restricting high-tech exports.
These sanctions have since widened to focus on evasion networks and third-country support, meaning many countries that still do business with Russia will be exposed to the sanctions.
As the graph above shows, Brexit Britain is more shielded from US sanctions than the EU, as the latter is far more reliant on goods from Russia.
The EU27 countries have bought goods worth £237billion from Putin’s Russia in the three years since President Putin’s forces invaded eastern Ukraine on 22 February 2022.
By contrast, the United Kingdom has bought just £5.2billion of goods.
The UK’s spend is 1/45th that of the amount spent by the EU27. This is far below what would be expected in proportion to the GDP of the UK (the sixth largest economy in the World), compared to the EU.
In broad terms, Brexit Britain has applied sanctions against Russia quickly and these have been effective. The EU took far longer to impose sanctions. These were applied in limited fashion, have only been applied slowly over time, and have had only limited success.
LATEST MEMBERSHIP DEVELOPMENTS
Keir Starmer's commitment to raise military spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2027 should keep Brexit Britain in Trump's good books
Facts4EU
Trump has consistently pressed allies to increase defence spending and share the financial burden.
“Ifyoudon’tpay,wewon’tprotectyou,”Trumptoldarally last month.
At a press conference with Starmer, Trump suggested NATO allies raise spending to five per cent of their GDP - far beyond Nato's current benchmark of two per cent.
In fact, as the graph above shows, only eight out of the 27 EU countries managed to spend the NATO minimum of at least two per cent of GDP on defence.
Keir Starmer's commitment to raise military spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2027 - three years earlier than planned - is another reason why Brexit Britain should be in Trump's good books.
The takeaway
The US has a healthy trade balance with the UK, which benefits both countries. There should be therefore no question of any punitive tariffs - which Trump may impose on the European Union - being applied to the independent United Kingdom, says the team behind Facts4EU.
Equally, the UK has far outperformed the EU on defence – and has done so for many years. Yes, the British government should go much further, as Facts4EU has consistently argued, but the UK has not been the guilty party in NATO. Sadly, that epithet falls on the EU.
The Facts4EU team has no desire to see the EU penalised by Trump. This would be very difficult for them given the parlous state of the EU economy. Their main reason for providing these three charts to the US President is to demonstrate that whilst the independent United Kingdom may be considered as part of Europe, the EU is not Europe.
And Brexit has ensured we are not subject to all the growing demands to harmonise with countries which have little in common with the needs of the British people.
