Sir Keir Starmer was urged to retaliate with tariffs on Elon Musk’s Tesla cars if Donald Trump imposes levies on UK imports to America.
The Prime Minister was encouraged in Parliament to respond to Trump tariffs on British steel, if they are imposed, with levies on US electric vehicles.
Musk, the boss of Tesla, has been appointed by the new US president to co-lead a Department of Government Efficiency.
Trump is proposing a 25 per cent tariff on all steel and aluminium imports into America.
He has not specifically said they will apply to the UK but they will impact hard on Canada and other countries.
At Prime Minister’s Questions, Sir Ed Davey recalled British soldiers fighting alongside Canadians and Americans 80 years ago in the latter stages of the Second World War, and said the US was hitting its closest allies hardest.
The Liberal Democrat leader said: “President Trump seems to have forgotten all this. His tariffs against steel and aluminium will hit Canada the hardest and will also hit jobs and the cost of living in our country.
“So in reminding President Trump who America’s true and longstanding friends and allies really are, will the Prime Minister also prepare a plan for tariffs in return, starting with tariffs on American electric cars.”
Sir Keir responded: “He is right to reference our history, the 80-year anniversary, and of course we were fighting alongside the Americans and that is amongst the reasons we have a special relationship.
“British steel is an essential part of our heartlands, and we will not abandon our skilled workforce. And it needs a level-headed assessment of the implications, which is what we’re going through at the moment, but we will always put our national interest first, and steel workers first.”
The European Union has vowed to retaliate over US tariffs, but Sir Keir said he is still assessing what the UK response will be.
With Sir Keir hopeful of a visit to see Mr Trump in the coming weeks, the Government will be reluctant to start a trade war with the US.
Britain exported 166,433 tonnes of steel to the US in 2023, the last full year for which figures are available.
Figures from trade body UK Steel showed that in 2024 some 162,716 tonnes were sent to the US, but that does not yet include data from December.
UK Steel warned the tariffs “would be a devastating blow to our industry” and accused Mr Trump of taking a “sledgehammer to free trade”.
Trump said the tariffs are “the beginning of making America rich again”.
The US president is imposing ten per cent tariffs on some goods from China, which has sparked retaliation from Beijing.
