Rachel Reeves will today launch a full throated defence of ‘free and open’ trade in the face of Donald Trump’s tariff war.
As a result of the US President’s policy, share prices have tumbled and the odds of a global recession has increased.
And the Chancellor’s remarks, to be delivered at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington, represent a change of tack for the Government, which until now has been counting on a breakthrough trade agreement with the White House.
Reeves is due to hold a meeting with the US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in Washington tomorrow.
In her remarks, she will say that the Government is prepared to take strong action to prevent the future dumping of cheap goods in Britain as China and other Asian exporters hunt for new markets for steel and lower value products in response to the Trump barrage.
Among the measures Reeves is proposing is a review of current customs arrangements which allow imports with a value of less than £125 to enter the UK tariff-free.
Customs review: Chancellor Rachel Reeves will announce that the UK government is prepared to take strong action to prevent the future dumping of cheap goods in Britain
Reeves will tell fellow finance ministers and central bankers gathered in Washington: ‘We are in a new era of global trade. We must stand up for free and open trade – crucial to deliver our “Plan for Change” to make everyone better off. We must help businesses keep their access to trade around the world.’
Until now the Labour government has been at pains not to say anything that might antagonise the Trump White House, which has taken retaliatory action against governments that have publicly resisted the tariff regime.
Britain has escaped relatively lightly with a general tariff of 10 per cent on UK exports to the US and a 25 per cent levy on cars and steel.
Even so, the US tariff has led to Britain’s luxury car maker Jaguar Land Rover to temporarily halt exports to the US until the uncertainty is cleared up.
Under the Reeves plan there will be increased support for British businesses which report unfair trade practices.
The Government is pledging to monitor trade data much more closely and to accelerate the introduction of measures – in effect UK reciprocal barriers – to deter import surges.
The Government is empowering the Trade Remedies Authority, which is responsible for defending the UK against unfair practices, to take action.
Reeves views free trade as vital to Labour’s growth agenda. She has been heavily lobbied by business to end the Government’s passive response to the ‘Liberation Day’ assault on free trade.
The UK’s growth agenda already has been affected with the IMF lowering its forecast for growth this year by 0.5 per cent to 1.1 per cent.
The Government has been hoping to achieve a trade agreement with the US ahead of this week’s Washington meeting.
Reeves’s intervention to protect the UK from a flood of foreign imports suggests the Government is not entirely confident of the outcome.
To win a better deal for Britain required a commitment to end the digital services tax which will raise £800million this year, and punishes the US tech giants most notably Amazon.
The likely decision to jettison this charge has caused consternation among High Street giants, which resent special treatment being given to American competitors at a time when they face severe cost pressures.
A potential impact of Reeves’s measures is that they may change the economics for Chinese fashion brand Shein. It could discourage the company from listing on the London Stock Exchange.
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This article was originally published by a www.dailymail.co.uk . Read the Original article here. .