UK’s Starmer seeks strong trade relations with the US in the wake of Trump’s tariffs WSOC TV [Video]

LONDON — (AP) — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Sunday that he would seek a strong trade relationship with the U.S. after President Donald Trump suggested he would slap Europe with tariffs after he hit America’s biggest trading partners — Canada, Mexico and China — with import taxes.

Starmer spoke to reporters while hosting German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at his country estate on the eve of a mission to improve relations with the European Union.

“In the discussions that I have had with President Trump, that is what we have centered on, a strong trading relationship,” he said. “So it is very early days.”

Canada and Mexico ordered retaliatory tariffs in response to Trump’s announcement that the U.S. on Tuesday will stick a 25% levy on imports from Canada and Mexico and 10% on goods from China. Trump said he “absolutely” plans to impose tariffs on the EU.

The U.K. left the EU in 2020, following a referendum in 2016. Trump, who …