Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has been urged to swap "warm words" for a "free trade agreement" with US President Donald Trump following his latest trade war move.
Reacting to the tariffs during Prime Minister's Questions, Starmer assured that while the move by Trump is "disappointing", the option to impose retaliatory tariffs is "still on the table".
Discussing the current state of UK-US relations on GB News, Shadow Treasury Minister Gareth Davies said the tariff is "very worrying" for the British industry.
Gareth Davies has warned Keir Starmer that 'warm words' will not prevent Trump from imposing tariffs on Britain
PA / GB News
Davies explained: "It's very worrying for a lot of people who work in the industries affected - of course it is.
"What we are urging the Government to do is rapidly engage with the US president and the US administration on a free trade agreement."
Highlighting how the UK had worked well with Trump in his first term in office, but all progress was "sidelined" by his successor Joe Biden.
Davies added: "We worked on this when Donald Trump was in power the first term. We made great progress and it got sidelined by Joe Biden. But he has an opportunity, I think, to engage with President Trump."
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
Donald Trump has imposed a 25 per cent tariff on worldwide steel and aluminium imports
Reuters / PAEmphasising how a free trade agreement between the UK and US will bolster relations and provide a "solution to our economy", Davies told GB News: "If we make some progress towards a free trade agreement, that is the solution for our economy, to avoid these tariffs going forward."
When pressed by host Stephen Dixon on why the UK hasn't imposed retaliatory tariffs on Trump, Davies claimed that the Government is "not at that point yet".
He stated: "I don't think we're at that point yet. I'm a free trade Conservative, and I don't believe that tariffs are the right thing to do right now.
"But a free trade agreement, the Prime Minister has talked up how he's engaging with the President positively. Let's see it."
Davies told GB News that the UK must secure a 'free trade agreement' with the US
GB News
In a stark warning to Starmer, Davies concluded: "Instead of warm words, let's get an agreement with Donald Trump, with the US administration to ensure that tariffs don't apply to the UK.
"He needs to make that an urgent priority on behalf of the British people and the jobs that are going to be affected by these tariffs."
Starmer told MPs that the Government is "negotiating an economic deal which covers and will include tariffs if we succeed", but he will "keep all options on the table".
