It remains to be seen how the UK will respond to the United States decision to impose 10% tariffs on goods exported into the country. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer held an urgent meeting with UK business leaders to discuss plans for a response to the levy imposed by Donald Trump.

He warned that “there will be an economic impact from the decisions the US has taken” as he opened the meeting with the bosses of companies such as BAE and Jaguar Land Rover. He added: “We will continue to negotiate on a deal in our interests. Decisions will be guided only by our national interests and what is best for the security of working people. We will go further and faster on the changes we’ve promised to make our economy more resilient.”

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds will address the House of Commons later today, where he is expected to brief MPs on the Government’s response to the unprecedented measures that have hit countries across the world with a range of tariffs.

Speaking earlier today, Reynolds said that the UK is in a “better position than a lot of other countries” following yesterday’s announcement.

Reynolds, a key part of negotiations to try and stave off tariffs, told Times Radio: “Any barrier to trade, particularly between the UK and our major trading partner, which the US is, is a disappointment to me. It’s a challenge.

“So, I recognise that the UK is in a better position than a lot of other countries from what was announced last night, but I was still disappointed.”

Reynolds, who was doing the morning news round said that the government had planned for every possible scenario as he emphasised: “We in the UK will take any action we need to give ourselves the tools that we need to respond to announcements of this kind.

Conservative Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp urged caution, telling Sky News that retaliatory tariffs “certainly” should not be the “first approach” in the UK’s response to the United States decision.