British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said tariffs should not be used against allies and warned that a trade war would be in no one’s interest, as he emphasized partnership, dialogue and respect for international law in comments addressing rising geopolitical and economic tensions, according to Reuters.
Starmer said his priority was to ensure the UK avoids being drawn into a tariff war, arguing that tariffs are not the right way forward and that economic pressure should not be framed as a tool to resolve security concerns.
Key takeaways
Tariffs should not be used against allies.
We believe in partnership.
We will keep the dialogue open.
He will defend international law.
My focus is to make sure we don’t get into a tariff war.
Tariffs are not the right way forward.
It is not helpful to frame efforts to enhance Greenland’s security as a justification for economic pressure.
A trade war is in no one’s interest.
Our commitment to international law is practical.
This is the moment when the country must come together.
We will work with allies in Europe, NATO and the United States.
Market reaction
The GBP/USD pair is still on an uptrend, rising 0.20% on the day to around 1.3400 at the time of writing.
The price of the British pound today
The table below shows the percentage change of the British Pound (GBP) against the major currencies listed today. The British pound was the strongest against the US dollar.
| US dollars | euro | GBP | JPY | Canadian | Australian dollar | New Zealand dollar | Swiss franc | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US dollars | -0.23% | -0.18% | -0.09% | -0.22% | -0.18% | -0.40% | -0.55% | |
| euro | 0.23% | 0.06% | 0.15% | 0.02% | 0.05% | -0.17% | -0.31% | |
| GBP | 0.18% | -0.06% | 0.11% | -0.04% | -0.00% | -0.23% | -0.37% | |
| JPY | 0.09% | -0.15% | -0.11% | -0.15% | -0.11% | -0.32% | -0.48% | |
| Canadian | 0.22% | -0.02% | 0.04% | 0.15% | 0.04% | -0.18% | -0.34% | |
| Australian dollar | 0.18% | -0.05% | 0.00% | 0.11% | -0.04% | -0.23% | -0.35% | |
| New Zealand dollar | 0.40% | 0.17% | 0.23% | 0.32% | 0.18% | 0.23% | -0.15% | |
| Swiss franc | 0.55% | 0.31% | 0.37% | 0.48% | 0.34% | 0.35% | 0.15% |
The heat map shows the percentage changes in major currencies versus each other. The base currency is chosen from the left column, while the counter currency is chosen from the top row. For example, if you select the British pound from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the US dollar, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent GBP (base)/USD (quote).
