New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy said the UK could be spared from President-elect Donald Trump‘s proposed tariffs plan, according to Sky News.
During an interview on Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, Murphy said that he believes Trump will not include allies like Britain in his new tariff plan, but rather target other countries, saying: “If I’m China, I’m fastening my seatbelt right now.”
Trump’s plan, which he has pushed as a way to boost American businesses, will act as a tax on imported goods, causing American consumers to pay higher prices for them.
Chris Jackson/Associated Press
Newsweek reached out to Murphy’s office and the Trump campaign for comment via email outside of normal business hours.
A U.K. Department for Business and Trade spokesperson told Newsweek: “We look forward to working closely with President Trump to improve U.K.-U.S. trading relations to support businesses on both sides of the Atlantic.”
One of the priorities in Trump’s campaign, his tariff plan includes adding a tariff of up to 60 percent on Chinese goods and up to 20 percent on imports from other countries.
An expert previously told Newsweek that this could lead to a major disruption to existing trade relationships, and the National Retail Federation predicted that the tariffs could cost the U.S. approximately $46 billion to $78 billion per year in lost purchasing power.
The New Jersey governor said that Trump may favor the U.K. following its departure from the European Union after Brexit in 2016.
He said, “Donald Trump (has) some sympathy with the renegade who has courage. I think there’s some of that. I think that’s a card that can be played. We’ll see.”
Murphy recently embarked on a trip to the U.K. in what he called the NJ-U.K. Mission on X, and wrote: “Back in New Jersey after another successful economic mission trip with @ChooseNJ! We spent the past six days building connections with industry leaders in London and Cambridge, building upon our already strong partnership.”
Darren Jones, the U.K. Treasury minister, said that the two governments have a “very strong” relationship that has been beneficial to both economies and that the British government supports “free trade.”
He added: “And of course, we want to protect that and strengthen it in the years ahead. And I think President-elect Trump has said that he recognizes the important relationship the U.S. has with the U.K. And that’s the basis on which we will be cooperating in future years.”
A report by the U.K. newspaper The Telegraph said that Trump reportedly has a plan to make British exports exempt from tariffs due to his “sympathy” for the country following Brexit, which would save Britain billions of pounds.
While some British politicians have criticized Trump’s reelection, Prime Minister Keir Starmer congratulated him on X and spoke to him on the phone soon after his victory.
Starmer wrote: “Congratulations President-elect Trump on your historic election victory. I look forward to working with you in the years ahead.
“As the closest of allies, we stand shoulder to shoulder in defense of our shared values of freedom, democracy and enterprise. From growth and security to innovation and tech, I know that the U.K.-U.S. special relationship will continue to prosper on both sides of the Atlantic for years to come.”
Despite Murphy’s favorable predictions for Trump’s trade relations with Britain, some are concerned that Trump may have a difficult time working with the new Labour government and Starmer as he filed a complaint against the Labour party alleging foreign election interference in October, saying the party had sent volunteers to campaign for Kamala Harris ahead of the election.
Starmer rejected the allegation, saying that volunteers had gone to campaign in every election, and that he has a good relationship with Trump.
As concerns regarding the tariff plan have risen following Trump’s reelection, the searches for the term “tariff” and “Trump tariffs” have increased exponentially, according to Google Trends.
Screenshot/Google Trends
During his campaign, Trump spoke about his plan to have Europe pay increased tariffs as he said they will pay “a big price” for not buying enough American exports, according to Reuters.
Prior to his reelection, at a rally in Pennsylvania, Trump said: “I’ll tell you what, the European Union sounds so nice, so lovely, right? All the nice European little countries that get together.”
He promised to pass the “Trump reciprocal trade act” and vowed to impose a 10 percent tariff on imports from all countries.
Trump added: “They don’t take our cars. They don’t take our farm products. They sell millions and millions of cars in the United States. No, no, no, they are going to have to pay a big price.”