UK's Starmer vows to cut trade barriers with key partners

He says Britain will fight to secure a trade deal with the United States

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer chairs a roundtable with UK business leaders in Downing Street in London on Apr 3, 2025. BEN STANSALL/Pool via REUTERS

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Monday Britain would fight to secure a trade deal with the United States while working with key partners around the world to lower trade barriers.

Starmer, who has avoided some of the more angry responses of world leaders to US President Donald Trump's tariff plan, said the levies were a "huge challenge for our future, and the global economic consequences could be profound".

"We will keep calm and fight for the best deal with the US, and we've been discussing that intensely over the last few days," he told workers at a factory in Britain.

"But we are also going to work with our key partners to reduce barriers to trade across the globe, trade deals for the rest of the world, and champion the cause of free and open trade right across the globe."