Good morning. Everyone was very impressed when David nobbled Goliath with a rock to the forehead, but Keir Starmer might be forgiven for scoffing at how easy he had it. At least David got to choose his slingshot. In the global trade war, it is the large philistine in the White House who has picked the weapons – and in the hands of a relative minnow like the UK, the truth is that tariffs will barely make a dent.
With that unpromising alternative on the horizon, Starmer spent yesterday talking about what he can do to help business at home, instead. But the changes he announced to support the car and pharmaceutical industries – even if they are backed up with more action later this week – also look trivial against the size of the task. And as the US president’s latest threat to impose an additional 50% tariff on Chinese imports makes abundantly clear, there is no guarantee that it won’t get bigger still.
