Jonathan Reynolds has said it is a time for “cool heads” as the UK engages with the US over tariff plans despite holding a “different set of views” on trade policy.

It comes after Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the UK is not planning “at the moment” to introduce retaliatory tariffs on the US, after President Donald Trump imposed a new trade tax on car imports.

A 25 per cent tariff on vehicles imported to the US will come into effect on April 2, Trump announced on Wednesday, which saw shares in carmaker Aston Martin drop by around six per cent shortly after the London Stock Exchange (LSE) opened on Thursday morning.

The business secretary told a conference held by think tank Chatham House that: “With the US, we’ve said that obviously we have a different set of views to where they’re coming from… you can understand and engage with that even if you don’t necessarily agree with it.” 

Decisions in the US come from a “belief on their side that it hasn’t got the right tools to deal with particularly overcapacity, and overproduction in some key sectors”, he said.

He added: “This is a time for cool heads and pragmatism and this is how we’re approaching these things.”

UK trade strategy

The minister admitted that there were “concerns and tensions”, but also said that “the basis of a UK trade strategy has got to be in the UK’s national interest”, adding: “I can’t fight battles for other countries.”