The world has entered “a new era” with chaos caused by Donald Trump’s trade tariffs here to stay, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has warned. Sir Keir said: “The world is changing before us.”

He spoke to MPs after Rachel Reeves announced she is to meet her US counterpart and plead for an end to 25% tariffs on British-made cars and steel which she said “pose a real challenge to our country”. Donald Trump announced a 10% tariff on UK goods on April 2, his so-called “liberation day”, but the Chancellor revealed her top priority was dealing with higher fees announced on specific products which will hit exports hard.

British-made vehicles worth £9 billion were sold in the US last year and the industry supports 813,000 British jobs, but Jaguar Land Rover, which has plants in the West Midlands and Merseyside, has announced it is “pausing” shipments to America.

The UK also exports around 200,000 tonnes of steel per year to the US, worth over £400 million, and there are concerns that Mr Trump could also impose new tariffs on the pharmaceutical industry.

Ms Reeves told MPs: “Discussions are ongoing across a range of Government departments, including the Treasury, with the United States, and I will be meeting US treasury secretary Scott Bessent shortly.

“Beyond tariffs, of course we are discussing a range of different areas but the focus is on reducing tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade, with a particular focus on those sectors that are subject to the higher tariffs, because although the 10% tariffs are lower than many other countries around the world – and we welcome that – the additional tariffs on cars, on steel, and potentially on life sciences pose a real challenge to our country because those are some of our biggest export markets.”

While the Government has generally avoided criticising Mr Trump, the Chancellor said that the United States’ approach to tariffs as a “disproportional response to a genuine problem of global trade imbalances” when she was questioned by MPs.

The Prime Minister has vowed to “keep calm and fight for the best deal with the US” after America imposed tariffs of 10% on UK goods, and 25% tariffs on specific products such as cars from any part of the world. He said nothing should be “off the table”, suggesting the UK has not entirely ruled out retaliatory tariffs on UK goods, but the Government has also made it clear that it hopes to avoid a trade war and instead wants to sign a deal with the US that could reduce tariffs.

Polling by More in Common found 51% of UK voters want the UK to retaliate with tariffs of its own, with just 27% opposed.

And just 43% of voters, fewer than half, say the US is an ally of the UK. This is still far higher than the number who class the US as an enemy, 15% of voters, but marks a shift away from the traditional view that the US is our closest ally. By contrast, 61% say France is an ally.

Speaking to the House of Commons Liaison Committee yesterday, Sir Keir declared war on regulators that he said were blocking economic growth, saying: “You’ll be astonished at how any regulators and regulatory bodies we have put in place over the years.”

And vowing to press ahead with plans to build 1.5 million new homes he said properties will be constructed near railway stations. Sir Keir said: “It would be in and around railway stations and the like where there is quite a lot of land which is of quite reasonable value.”