Jaguar Land Rover has decided to “pause” shipments to the US for a month following Donald Trump’s imposition of tariffs. It comes as anti-Trump protests are planned in every US state – with more taking place around the world. Listen to Trump 100 analysis as you scroll.
Saturday 5 April 2025 21:34, UK
Live reporting by Andy Hayes and, previously, Kieren Williams
The world “as we knew it has gone” and “old assumptions can no longer be taken for granted”, the prime minister has said.
Sir Keir Starmer, reflecting on Donald Trump’s tariffs and on defence and national security, said the new world is “less governed by established rules and more by deals and alliances”.
“It demands the best of British virtues – cool heads, pragmatism and a clear understanding of our national interest,” he has written in The Telegraph.
On tariffs, he said the “immediate priority” is to “keep calm and fight for the best deal”.
The consequences of a trade war could be “profound”, he observed.
“We already have a balanced trading relationship with our American allies and work continues on a new economic prosperity deal.
“Nonetheless, all options remain on the table.
“I will only strike a deal if it is right for British business and the security of working people. And I will continue to make the case for free and open trade, because turning our back on that now would be a grave mistake.”
Sir Keir said he was prepared to use “industrial policy” to “help shelter British business from the storm”.
He added: “Some people may feel uncomfortable about this – the idea the state should intervene directly to shape the market has often been derided.
“But we simply cannot cling on to old sentiments when the world is turning this fast.”
Job losses in the UK car industry are “inevitable” following Donald Trump’s imposition of 25% tariffs, the former CEO of Aston Martin has told Sky News.
Andy Palmer was speaking after Jaguar Land Rover said it was going to “pause” exports to the US in April, something Dr Palmer described as “very wise”.
President Trump’s policy decisions can be a “bit volatile”, he observed, and said the “last thing you want to do is to ship cars, with the tariff, only for the tariff to be removed later, leaving you with a group of cars that is overpriced”.
Asked whether there would be job losses in Britain, Dr Palmer replied: “Inevitably, yes.”
He continued: “It’s about 40,000 units a quarter for Jaguar Land Rover.
“That’s a lot of cars to take out of production.
“Tariffs are a very blunt instrument – almost certainly all of the cost gets borne by the consumer, and that means that Jaguar Land Rovers will be more expensive in the US market, which is their largest market.
“All car companies hate uncertainty and so they’ll all be looking for guidance to the government to see whether or not Keir Starmer can manage to negotiate away the tariffs for the UK.”
Building a factory in the US would take two years and require hundreds of millions of pounds of investment.
Dr Palmer said the tariffs were bad news for the US, too, noting that “nobody wins”.
Car manufacturing is a global industry.
“Many of the batteries that go into a Tesla, for example, may well be made outside of the US,” Dr Palmer said.
“Same is true for General Motors, same is true for Ford.”
More from France now, and its economy could contract by at least 0.5% because of President Trump’s tariffs, Prime Minister Francois Bayrou has told Le Parisien newspaper.
He described the levies as “outrageous” and warned of a “global crisis”.
“Trump’s policies could cost us more than 0.5% of our GDP,” Bayrou said.
“The imposition of these outrageous tariffs will lead to a global crisis.
“The risk of job losses is significant, as is that of an economic slowdown.”
Under Trump’s plans announced on Wednesday, France will be subject to a general tariff of 20%, along with other European Union countries.
France’s President Macron – who spoke to Sir Keir Starmer earlier – says a trade war is in “no one’s interest”.
He also says that in the “face of the world’s great shocks, we must move forward together”.
Macron says he and the prime minister “reaffirmed our determination to closely coordinate our positions in the ongoing discussions with President Donald Trump”.
He adds on X: “A trade war is in no one’s interest.
“We must stand united and resolute to protect our citizens and our businesses.”
By Becky Johnson, social affairs correspondent
The decision by Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) to pause shipments of cars to the USA for the next month has made people in Solihull anxious.
The auto giant’s plant in the West Midlands town employs around 10,000 people. Many more work in the supply chain.
On the high street one of the factory workers said they’d been told not to speak to journalists about the company’s decision.
Another worker asked us not to name her but said “everyone’s talking about it”.
She added: “They’ve already laid off agency staff – the worry is the next jobs to go will be staff jobs.”
Richard Shuttelworth, 81, worked for JLR for more than 30 years.
“An awful lot of their trade is with America,” he said.
“There are going to be a lot of jobs lost if they don’t get it sorted.”
He is unsure how the government should respond, however.
“When it comes to retaliation I just don’t know.
“At the moment I think they’re playing it right. They should kind of play it cool and see if they can get a trade deal because I think the tit for tat is going to do nobody any good at all.”
This is a town with car making in its DNA.
The Institute For Public Policy Research has warned that Donald Trump’s tariffs could put 25,000 jobs across British car manufacturing at risk.
Julie, 63, said it would not only be the people who work at the factory that would be affected.
That’s what’s worrying John Constable who helps to run his wife’s family’s carousel business in the town centre.
Ironically, a New York taxi is among the favourite vehicles on the children’s ride.
If parents are not earning, the business could grind to a halt.
“People are going to cut back, aren’t they?” John says.
“They’re going to watch their pennies.”
Elon Musk says he hopes that in future there will be a “zero-tariff zone” between Europe and America.
The billionaire Tesla owner, and Trump White House insider, has been speaking to Italy’s deputy prime minister, Matteo Salvini, who leads the right wing Lega party.
Musk told Salvini he hoped that in future the US and Europe could create a “very close, stronger partnership” and reach a “zero-tariff zone” and a “free-trade zone”.
They spoke via video conference during the Lega party’s congress in Florence.
If you were thinking that Wednesday, when Donald Trump imposed his global tariffs – a day he described as Liberation Day – was the peak of uncertainty, then perhaps you should think again.
Isabel Schnabel, a policy maker at the European Central Bank, is urging caution.
Speaking at an economic forum in northern Italy, Ms Schnabel said the ECB would be looking closely in the coming weeks at the tariffs’ effects on Eurozone growth and inflation.
For the moment, however, she said there was a “dramatic surge in uncertainty” and it may be only the start.
“Some people had the view that Liberation Day could be the day of peak uncertainty, but I’m not entirely sure that is the case,” Ms Schnabel said.
She also rejected an assertion by Trump that the European Union had been formed to “screw” the United States.
“Of course the EU was not born to screw the United States, but it was born to make Europe thrive,” she said.
We reported earlier on the breaking news that the automotive giant Jaguar Land Rover has decided to “pause” shipments to the US for a month following Donald Trump’s imposition of tariffs – see our 1.50pm post.
The Institute For Public Policy Research says about 25,000 automotive jobs in the UK could be at risk.
One in eight cars built in the UK is exported to the US, leaving companies facing an “extraordinary challenge”, the think tank said.
“Over 25,000 direct jobs in the car manufacturing industry could be at risk as exports to America are predicted to fall, with UK employees at Jaguar Land Rover and the Cowley Mini factory seen as some of the most exposed,” the IPPR said earlier this week.
‘One door closes another one opens’
Pranesh Narayanan, research fellow at the IPPR, said: “Trump’s tariffs have huge potential to completely destabilise the UK car manufacturing industry, affecting tens of thousands of jobs and putting the government’s growth plans at jeopardy.
“However, as one door closes another one opens.
“There is huge untapped potential in manufacturing green planes, trains and automobiles and selling them at home and abroad.
“If the government use the upcoming industrial strategy to drive investment in these sectors, this could be the spark that leads to thousands of new consumers to start buying British and buying green.”
“No to Maga hate” and “Dump Trump” were among the slogans on placards in London’s Trafalgar Square today.
People gathered for a “hands off” demonstration – one of hundreds around the world following the imposition of US tariffs worldwide (see our 4pm post).
Among those in the capital was Clarke Reinstein, 73, from Rhode Island on the east coast of the United States, who said he was “disappointed in my fellow Americans” for electing Trump.
“I’ve been in London for two months and I like being over here because people think a little differently,” he said.
A 37-year-old woman from Philadelphia was draped in an American flag that had been presented to her grandfather who was a veteran of the Second World War.
While not wanting to be named, she said she was protesting because of the “absolute, mind-blowing insipidness” of Trump’s presidency.
“I don’t want to alienate the rest of the world,” she added.
“It’s not going to be useful for anyone in the long run. I felt powerless and I needed to come out and say something.”
Brent Robertson, 56, from Albuquerque, criticised the tariffs.
A 25% levy on all foreign cars imported into America came into force on Thursday, while a wider “baseline” 10% tariff on goods imported from around the world began on Saturday morning.
Mr Robertson said: “Stupid is not the word. He is shooting himself and all of us as Americans, just so he can make himself look like a tough guy.”
Sir Keir Starmer has been talking to France’s president Emanuel Macron today.
Regarding Donald Trump’s tariffs, Downing Street says they agreed that a trade war was in “nobody’s interests”.
Number 10 also says the two men agreed that “nothing should be off the table and that it was important to keep business updated on developments”.
A spokesperson continued: “The prime minister and president also shared their concerns about the global economic and security impact, particularly in southeast Asia.
“Following discussions between military planners in Ukraine this week, they discussed the good progress that has been made on the coalition of the willing.
“The prime minister and president agreed to stay in close contact over the coming weeks.”
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