Prime Minister Keir Starmer will declare his backing for ‘British brilliance’ with a support package for the car industry in the wake of Donald Trump’s tariffs
Keir Starmer will declare his backing for “British brilliance” with a support package for the car industry in the wake of Donald Trump ’s tariffs.
The Prime Minister has given the go-ahead to watering down rules on selling electric cars to stop the industry being decimated. In a major speech on Monday, Mr Starmer will vow to help “ensure home-grown firms can export British cars” amid “global economic headwinds”. He said that “global trade is being transformed” and businesses need “a government that steps up”.
On Monday, the PM will officially restore a 2030 deadline to ban sales of petrol and diesel vehicles after the Tory government pushed it back to 2035. But he will announce hybrid cars, which use either a petrol or diesel engine with an electric battery, such as the Toyota Prius and Nissan e-Power, will be allowed to be sold until 2035 to give the industry more time to prepare.
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The support package will also exempt small and micro-volume manufacturers – supercar brands including McLaren and Aston Martin – from the zero-emissions targets. The Government is also going to make it easier for manufacturers who do not comply with Government-mandated sales targets to avoid fines.
Green campaigners responded with confusion at the news and said there was “no real logic” to watering down the target on hybrid vehicles. But the Department for Transport insisted it will give “certainty, stability, and support” to Britain’s car industry, which is facing more than 25,000 job losses due to Mr Trump’s trade war.
The UK is facing a 10% tariff on all British imports into the US, with a further 25% tariff on all foreign cars sold to the US. Many nations will face even higher levies in the coming days, including the EU, which will see tariffs imposed increase to 20% later in the week. On Saturday night Jaguar Land Rover announced it will “pause” all shipments to the US after tariffs were imposed earlier this week.
On Sunday Mr Starmer reiterated his disappointment over Mr Trump’s new tariffs in further calls with world leaders, after speaking to France’s President Emmanual Macron on Saturday. Downing Street said that the Prime Minister yesterday(SUN) spoke to European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and leader of the German Christian Democratic Union party Friedrich Merz.
No10 said they all agreed that “this is a new era for the global economy”, as it has been with defence and security, and that “Europe must rise to meet the moment”. “The Prime Minister reiterated that he was disappointed by the new tariffs and stressed he will continue to act in the UK’s national interest – remaining calm while preparing for all eventualities,” Downing Street said.
More than 50 countries have contacted the White House to start trade talks since Mr Trump’s tariffs announcement, according to the director of the White House’s National Economic Council.
Over the course of this week the PM is expected to announce a raft of measures to boost growth in the UK. Elements of the industrial strategy are likely to be brought forward, having been expected this summer, in response to the announcements from the US in recent days.
It comes after he on Sunday said “the world as we knew it has gone” and pledged to “help shelter British business from the storm” of US tariffs.
Speaking about support for the car industry, Mr Starmer said: “I am determined to back British brilliance. Now more than ever UK businesses and working people need a Government that steps up, not stands aside. That means action, not words. So today I am announcing bold changes to the way we support our car industry.
“This will help ensure home-grown firms can export British cars built by British workers around the world, and the industry can look forward with confidence, as well as back with pride.”
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said: “We will always back British business. In the face of global economic challenges and stifled by a lack of certainty and direction for too long, our automotive industry deserves clarity, ambition and leadership. That is exactly what we are delivering today.”
Chancellor Rachel Reeves said: “The world is changing but we are determined to deliver for working people, protect their jobs and put more pounds in their pockets. That is why we are backing British business and investing in industries of the future, including our car manufacturers.”
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