Vital that Britain holds its nerve as Donald Trump introduces tariffs

But the reality is that given Donald Trump has imposed even higher tariffs elsewhere means that Britain has escaped the worst of it, for now. There is no saying what sort of global order we will end up with in a world of tariffs.

While the blanket 10 per cent tariff will come into effect on Saturday, the car industry has already been hit with a 25 per cent import tax.

Therefore it is important for Britain to start towards building its own industrial resilience. It is high time that cross-party consensus was established on how the country can shield itself, as best as possible, from the vagaries of foreign nations, including historic allies.

That is not to say that Britain can turn its back on the world, in an era of globalisation that is simply not possible to do. However, the more resilient Britain is the better served it will be when negotiating trade with other countries.

As Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said “as with defence and security, so too for the economy and trade we are living in a changing world, entering a new era” and “we must rise to this challenge”.

In the short-term, it is vital that Britain keeps its cool. Antagonising the Trump administration won’t achieve anything constructive. Instead the Government will need to find a way of working within the parameters of this new era.

Britain finds itself in a unique position post-Brexit. The Leader of the Opposition Kemi Badenoch is right to urge the Government to strike “a deep and meaningful trade deal with the US”.

That, though, should not come at the cost of British industry or British standards and welfare.