Trump hits UK with 10% tariffs – EU hit with 20% – Trump declares ‘US will enter golden age’

Donald Trump hits UK with 10% tariffs – Thursday’s headlines are, of course, dominated by yesterday’s news that the US will introduce a baseline 10% tariff on the world, including the UK and other countries, and are facing far higher tariffs, including the EU being hit with a 20% levy. 

The headlines are in general agreement that the UK being hit with the baseline tariff is far less severe than what was expected, and there could be some wiggle room as the tariffs don’t come into effect on Saturday. 

Donald Trump hits UK with 10% tariffs

A sigh of relief from the press this morning as the UK has been hit with the baseline 10% tariffs the US has imposed – far less severe than what some countries are facing and reports suggest the UK government is still in talks with the US over a trade deal before the tariffs come into effect on Saturday. 

Read the bias in the headlines as the UK media reacts to Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs

• The Daily Mirror says the “world faces an economic war”, reporting the universal 10% tariffs will be placed on all imports into the US that were announced last night, which will go into effect on 5 April.
• The Guardian situates Trump’s “global trade war” domestically, noting the 10% tarriffs on the UK is lower than the 20% that the UK government had expected – a difference, the paper says, comes from Starmer’s more “conciliatory approach to the Trump administration”.
• The Daily Telegraph says Britain will face 10 per cent levies as “president brings in sweeping ‘reciprocal trade measures”. The paper notes that the UK no longer being apart of the EU means Britain was spared the 20% hit. 
• The Daily Mail says the US president has started a war on ‘foreign scavengers’ and looks at the differences in levies that “Brexit Britain” will face compared to the 20% that the EU has been “hammered with”. Some countries were hit even harder, with Laos getting hit with a 48% tariff rate and Cambodia with 49%. 
• The i newspaper says the “trade war” the president has “triggered” is a “threat to UK jobs and wages.” The paper looks at how the tariffs will impact everyday Britons. “UK growth predicted to fall to 0% next year”, it reports, but all hope is not lost. The paper goes on to say King Charles will act as a “soft power weapon” as British officials seek to minimise the impact of tariffs, sources tell the paper. 
• The Times dedicates the majority of its front page to the tariffs, saying the move will hit all of the UK’s $60 billion worth of annual exports to the US, with economists warning the tariffs could completely wipe out growth in the UK economy next year. 
• The Independent says Trump has hit the world with fees as high as 40% as he “rages against friends and foes who’ve ‘ooted, pillaged, rtaped and plundered’ the US”. The paper notes Trump has called the tariffs ‘Liberation Day’ and it will ‘make America wealthy again’ and usher in a ‘golden age’.