UK PM Starmer Signals Break From Globalisation Amid Trump's Tariff War: ‘We Need Different Path'

In the wake of US President Donald Trump's protectionist policies - including sweeping tariffs and his "America First" doctrine - UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is set to deliver a major speech on Monday, declaring the end of the era of globalisation.

According to The Times, Starmer will argue that globalisation - which took off after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 - has ultimately let down millions of voters.

Photo Credit: AP/PTI

His remarks come as Trump's dramatic new 10 per cent "baseline" tariff policy sends shockwaves through global markets.

The report also suggests Starmer will recognise the rationale behind Trump's economic nationalism.

A senior British official told the publication that, while Starmer's government does not support the extreme nature of Trump's measures, it concedes that the world has entered a new phase - one where many now back the American President's approach.

"Globalisation doesn't work for a lot of working people. We don't believe trade wars are the answer. This is a chance to show that there's a different path," Starmer is quoted as saying by The Times.

As Trump tears down trade barriers, Starmer is reportedly acknowledging that increased competition will prompt many nations to turn inward - focusing on boosting productivity and enhancing domestic output through supply-side reforms.

Echoing this sentiment, HSBC chair Sir Mark Tucker remarked that globalisation "may have now run its course". Speaking at the bank's global investment summit in Hong Kong last month, Sir Mark predicted that, amid heightened geopolitical tensions and Trump's assertive trade strategy, the world could fracture into regional blocs or clusters with tighter localised trade partnerships, The Financial Times reported.

On April 2, Trump declared a national emergency and unveiled "reciprocal" tariffs on countries imposing higher duties on American goods, including the blanket 10 per cent baseline tariff.

"To all of the foreign presidents, prime ministers, kings, queens, ambassadors and everyone else who will soon be calling to ask for exemptions from these tariffs, I say, 'Terminate your own tariffs, drop your barriers,'" Trump proclaimed.

He added, "April 2, 2025, will forever be remembered as the day American industry was reborn, the day America's destiny was reclaimed, and the day that we began to make America wealthy again."

While the European Union responded with tit-for-tat tariffs, Britain took what it described as a "pragmatic approach" and escaped relatively lightly - subjected only to the standard 10 per cent levy.