Let's take a breath: Definitely not 'happy' Starmer embarks on diplomatic mission to talk allies out of any big retaliations over tariffs

Sir Keir Starmer is urging satellite leaders to chopped commercialized barriers betwixt themselves to soften the interaction of Donald Trump's tariff war.

The Prime Minister past nighttime began a flurry of diplomatic calls designed to coordinate responses to President Trump's 'Liberation Day' announcement connected tariffs, which has triggered marketplace meltdowns crossed the world.

Last nighttime the Prime Minister discussed the situation by telephone with Italian premier curate Giorgia Meloni and Australian person Anthony Albanese.

Downing Street said: 'They each agreed that an all-out commercialized warfare would beryllium highly damaging and is successful nobody's interests,' adding: 'It has been wide for a agelong clip that like-minded countries indispensable support beardown relationships and dialog to guarantee our communal information and support economical stability.'

Sir Keir is expected to proceed the diplomatic propulsion with calls to a drawstring of European, Commonwealth and Gulf leaders implicit the weekend.

He volition impulse them to hold retaliating to the US determination with tit-for-tat tariffs, which economists pass could plunge the satellite into an adjacent deeper commercialized war.

And helium volition suggest that they enactment connected lifting commercialized barriers to assistance offset the interaction of the US President's tariff policy.

Whitehall sources said the PM was 'very interested' successful the connection which was floated yesterday by erstwhile curate and Goldman Sachs main economist Jim O'Neill. 

Lord O'Neill said ministers were close to 'politely transportation connected discussions astir a commercialized woody with the US'.

But the autarkic adjacent said the US President's 'kamikaze approach' meant leaders should besides look to reshape the planetary system and 'stop this addiction to the US consumer'.

He said the economies of different G7 countries were astir equivalent successful size to the US, and suggested that different large powers similar China and India could beryllium asked to collaborate.

He told BBC Radio Four's Today programme: 'A precise sensible happening to beryllium doing would beryllium having a superior speech with the different (G7) members astir really lowering commercialized barriers betwixt ourselves. 

'That would beryllium precise steadfast for each of those countries due to the fact that it's the 1 country for planetary commercialized wherever astir countries haven't done enough.'

No 10 yesterday rejected Mr Trump's assertion that helium is 'very happy' astir the tariffs imposed connected the UK, which are successful the lowest 10 per cent set – fractional that levied connected the EU. A spokesperson said Sir Keir was 'disappointed' by the move.

A Government root said Sir Keir would proceed to prosecute a commercialized woody with President Trump but added: 'He does not deliberation we tin conscionable person a tactical response.'