CBI comments on Trump tariff announcement

Ben Digby, CBI International Director, said:

“Firms in the UK and the EU can breathe a small sigh of relief that they continue to be exempt from the President’s trade tariffs, following the Government’s engagement with the White House.

“However, as the stay of exemption has only been granted for one extra month, there is a sense of the can having been kicked down the road.

“Businesses urgently need to know what would have to happen for the exemption to become permanent, to properly reflect the close trading relationship between the USA and the UK - the UK is the largest foreign investor in America, and British companies support over 1 million jobs in the USA, from Alaska to New York.

“Prolonging the uncertainty around these tariffs is a lose-lose for all concerned – it damages prosperity on both sides of the Atlantic. Firms cannot continue making investment decisions based on short-term uncertain deadlines, and we will continue to work closely with the U.S. Administration to protect British trade, jobs and growth.”

Notes to Editors:

On 21^st May, the CBI will publish Sterling Assets 9: British investment creating U.S. jobs – a report looking at the economic impact of British firms on the American economy and US trade in goods and services with the United Kingdom.