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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Pippa Crerar and Eleni Courea

‘It could’ve been much worse’: how UK avoided a bigger blow from Trump tariffs

Keir Starmer used his meeting with Donald Trump in Washington to make the case for not upping tariffs based on including VAT.
Keir Starmer used his meeting with Donald Trump in Washington to make the case for not upping tariffs based on including VAT. Photograph: Carl Court/Reuters

When Jonathan Reynolds gathered with officials around the large television screen in his office to watch Donald Trump unleash his global trade war, he knew little more than anyone else about what was to come.

It was Wednesday night and the US president was about to upend a century of global trade with the imposition of sweeping taxes on US imports from around the world.

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