Yvette Cooper refused to criticise Donald Trump even after his flip-flopping on his international tariffs.
A week after he first announced a series of steep taxes on international imports on more than 60 countries, the US president imposed a sudden 90-day pause on these levies.
Now all of those nations enjoy the same “baseline” level the UK received last week – 10% tariffs – until July.
The only exception is China, which now has 125% tariffs.
While stock markets have bounced back, they are still lower than they were before Trump’s Liberation Day last week – and the US president has been widely ridiculed for unleashing such chaos.
But the UK government appears to be sticking to its more neutral approach by avoiding criticising the White House.
Asked to react to the tariff changes on Sky News, Cooper said: “We’ve made clear throughout that we don’t want to see a trade war. I don’t think that is in anyone’s interests.
“Our position hasn’t changed. We’re continuing to approach this in a calm, steady way, continuing to negotiate and work in the UK’s national interest.
“What we want to see is a reduction in barriers to trade, so countries can trade effectively rather than increases.”
Cooper also refused to say if she thinks Trump has blinked, adding: “I can’t comment on the decisions the US government is making and what we’re doing is acting in the UK’s national interest.”
Presenter Anna Jones asked: “Are you disappointed Donald Trump didn’t lower our 10% tariffs or scrap them altogether? We talk about having a special relationship with the US, does that count for anything when we’re all on the same level now?”
Cooper dodged the question, and said: “We’re seeing changes all the time, we’re seeing quite a lot of global insecurity.”
She added: “We are not keeping a running commentary.”
Pressed again, the minister replied: “I think we’re taking the right approach to this: take it steady, be pragmatic, be serious, but most of all, we will act in the UK’s national interest and keep making sure that our stability here in the UK mean we can attract new investment.”
The government is trying to secure a US trade deal and so has avoided any “knee-jerk” response to Trump’s chaos – and those negotiations between the US and the UK are continuing, according to Cooper.
But, Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey has been much more anti-Trump.
Responding to the latest changes, he said: “This is Donald Trump’s Liz Truss moment. He’s been forced into an embarrassing climbdown.
“Now we need to get him to go further and get rid of his remaining reckless tariffs. That means an economic coalition of the willing and uniting with our allies.”
The former prime minister Liz Truss famously sent the pound into decline and the markets into turmoil by unveiling £45bn of unfunded tax cuts in her 2022 mini-budget.
She was forced to resign over her economic policy after just 49 days in office.
The Green Party co-leader Carla Denyer also slammed the president today, telling HuffPost UK: “Trump is a master of chaos, changing policy on a whim and inflicting uncertainty and instability on the rest of the world.
“Starmer’s priority in this changing world must be taking control of the UK’s economy so that it works for people here – not just sitting tight and waiting for the storm to pass.
“That means rethinking Reeves’s arbitrary, damaging fiscal rules; protecting living standards by raising wages and tackling spiralling bills; and investing in our economy to create jobs and make this country more resilient.”
Meanwhile, the Tories focused their criticism on Labour’s relationship wit the White House.
Shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith said: “For all the talk about the special relationship and good diplomacy, the UK is in exactly the same band of tariffs as the Christmas Islands, the Congo or Kosovo. Not that special.”
And famously pro-Trump Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, told ITV’s Peston last night the US president had done “too much, too quickly, too soon” with the tariffs.