UK Prime Minister to declare end of globalisation amid Trump’s trade war: Report

Following US President Donald Trump’s protectionist measures – such as tariffs and the ‘America First’ policy – UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is scheduled to make an address on Monday, declaring that the era of globalisation is over.

The UK Prime Minister is all set to announce that globalisation – which began with the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 – has caused disappointment to millions of voters as Trump’s unprecedented 10 per cent “baseline” tariffs slipped the global markets into uncertainty, the Times reported.

According to a report by the Times, Starmer is also expected to acknowledge that he understands his US counterpart’s focus on economic nationalism. Citing a senior UK official, the outlet reported that while the Starmer administration does not agree with Trump’s extreme measures, it admits that a new era has begun – one in which many support the US President’s approach.

“Globalisation doesn’t work for a lot of working people. We don’t believe trade wars are the answer. This is a chance to show that there’s a different path,” Starmer said, as reported by the Times.

As Trump moves to remove trade barriers, Starmer, according to The Times, has acknowledged that with increased competition as a result, countries will look inward to boost productivity and ramp up domestic production through supply-side reforms.

Aligning with Starmer’s outlook, HSBC chief Sir Mark Tucker echoed a similar sentiment, saying that globalisation “may have now run its course.”

Addressing the bank’s global investment summit in Hong Kong last month, Sir Tucker predicted that amid rising global tensions and Trump’s aggressive trade policies, the world is likely to split into smaller regional blocs or clusters where strong trade ties may emerge, The Financial Times reported.

Declaring a national emergency, Trump, on April 2, announced “reciprocal” tariffs on countries which slap a higher levy on US imports and a 10 per cent baseline tariff.

“To all of the foreign presidents, prime ministers, kings, queens, ambassadors and everyone else who will soon be calling to ask for exemptions from these tariffs, I say, ‘Terminate your own tariffs, drop your barriers,’” Trump said.

“April 2, 2025, will forever be remembered as the day American industry was reborn, the day America’s destiny was reclaimed, and the day that we began to make America wealthy again,” Trump went on.

Even as the EU responded with retaliatory tariffs, the UK adopted a “pragmatic approach” and got off lightly, facing only a 10 per cent baseline tariff.