East Midlands Mayor Claire Ward(Image: Joseph Raynor/Reach PLC)
The East Midlands Mayor has said she has become “very worried” for regional businesses, such as Rolls-Royce, after Donald Trump threatened to impose tariffs on the UK.
Claire Ward spoke of her concerns after the American President threatened the UK and other European nations over his plans to acquire Greenland.
The Labour Mayor strongly criticised Trump’s tactics in recent days and praised the “calm” response of the Prime Minister and other European leaders.
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At the start of the week, Trump threatened the UK and other European nations with tariffs if an agreement to purchase the North Atlantic country was not reached.
But days later, Trump backed down on the threat after stating that a “framework” deal for Greenland had been negotiated.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer described the threat to allies as “completely wrong”. He said any change in territorial ownership is for only Greenlanders and its owner, the Kingdom of Denmark, to decide on.
The East Midlands Mayor said she feared for businesses in the region when news of the threat emerged. She warned that if tariffs were imposed, it would affect the regional economy.
Ms Ward told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “I was obviously very worried for businesses in my region.
“I think the Prime Minister and the European leaders have handled this very well, which is to keep calm and not to rise to the bait, but to talk about the importance of getting agreements internationally – rather than being pressured by the President of the USA.
“I’m really pleased to see the President has rolled back on the idea. That is not the way to engage with allies and it is really good news for businesses in this region and for the UK economy.
“Clearly it would have an impact on businesses in the UK. We do export quite a lot to the US and our relationships with the US are important, particularly in the defence industry and companies like Rolls-Royce and their supply chains.”
Rolls-Royce has publicly dismissed a rumour on social media that its Derby-based jet engine business was moving to the US.
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The firm, one of Derby’s biggest employers, has both jet engine and nuclear submarine divisions employing in the region of 15,000 people.
A spokesperson for the firm said: “There is no truth in the rumour circulating on social media.”
Ms Ward says politics globally is facing a “difficult” time.
She added: “Countries are facing economic and growth challenges but we are also seeing the aggression of some of those as well.”
Rolls-Royce has been approached for further comment on the UK tariffs threat situation.
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