Starmer-Trump row continues with Falklands and tariff threats
An internal Pentagon email, with options for Donald Trump to punish Nato allies over the Iran war, suggested reassessing US diplomatic support for “imperial possessions” such as the Falklands.
The UK insisted the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands was “not in question” after reports the US administration could review its position on the South Atlantic territory in retaliation for Sir Keir Starmer’s lack of support for the war in Iran.
An internal Pentagon email set out options for Donald Trump’s administration to punish Nato allies for refusing to join the US-Israeli strikes against Iran.
The memo, first reported by Reuters, suggests reassessing US diplomatic support for “imperial possessions” such as the Falklands.
The potential for a shift in the US position has been considered in the Foreign Office although it has been treated as a “hypothetical scenario”.
Downing Street said the UK’s stance on the Falklands was not going to change.
“The Falkland Islands have previously voted overwhelmingly in favour of remaining a UK overseas territory, and we’ve always stood behind the islanders’ right to self-determination and the fact that sovereignty rests with the UK,” a No 10 spokesman said.
“The question of the Falkland Islands and the UK’s sovereignty and the islanders’ right to self-determination is not in question, and we’ve expressed that position clearly and consistently.”
York Outer MP Luke Charters said: “As one of the MPs who recently visited the Falklands, I understand both their geostrategic importance and their wider cultural significance as part of the UK.
“We cannot allow ourselves to be placed once again in a situation where a country with no legitimate connection to a territory attempts to intervene and dictate who should, or should not, have sovereignty over it.
“The sovereignty of these islands is fundamentally British and rests with one country alone: the United Kingdom.”
The row is the latest sign of the strains in the US-UK relationship as the King and Queen prepare for their state visit on Monday.
Argentina has long claimed sovereignty over the Falkland Islands and invaded them in 1982 before being defeated in a short but bloody war.
The US president is an ally of Argentina’s president Javier Milei and Mr Trump’s relationship with Sir Keir has deteriorated dramatically since the start of the Iran crisis.
Reform UK’s Nigel Farage said he would raise the issue personally with the Argentinian president.
He said: “This is utterly non-negotiable. There is no way we’re even going to have a debate about the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands.”
Mr Trump also threatened to impose “a big tariff” on the UK if it does not drop its digital services tax on American social media firms.
Introduced in 2020, it imposes a 2 per cent levy on the revenues of several major US tech companies.
Speaking to reporters from the Oval Office on Thursday, Mr Trump said: “We’ve been looking at it and we can meet that very easily by just putting a big tariff on the UK, so they better be careful.
“If they don’t drop the tax, we’ll probably put a big tariff on the UK.”
The tax targets companies whose worldwide revenues from digital activities exceed £500m, with more than £25m of the revenue from UK users.