Rachel Reeves has declined to back calls for the UK government to launch a “buy British” campaign in response to Donald Trump’s tariffs, saying it would make Britain too “inward-looking”.
However, Downing Street said the Cabinet Office was examining procurement rules and said there were already policies in place to incentivise using the government’s purchasing power for British companies.
The chancellor and Downing Street said they would not be calling for British shoppers to do the same, despite a campaign from the Liberal Democrats. Canada launched a buy Canadian campaign in response to a 25% US tariff on Canadian imports.
During Treasury questions on Tuesday, the Lib Dems’ deputy leader and Treasury spokesperson, Daisy Cooper, asked the government to “commit to a ‘buy British’ campaign as part of a broader national effort to encourage people to buy British here at home”.
Reeves replied: “In terms of buying British, I think everyone will make their own decisions. What we don’t want to see is a trade war, with Britain becoming inward-looking, because if every country in the world decided that they only wanted to buy things produced in their country, that is not a good way forward.”
The prime minister’s spokesperson backed Reeves and said there were no plans for the government to launch a buy British campaign. He said the government “will always back British manufacturers” but it was up to individuals to decide what they wanted to buy.
Asked if the government would advise people to avoid US products, he said that would not be consistent with Britain being an “open, trading nation” and the government was “not going to tell people where they buy their stuff”.
He said: “That is something the prime minister and the chancellor have previously said, and we want to see fewer trade barriers around the world, such that we’re continuing to support our economy. At the same time, we also continue to prioritise and support British manufacturers, British producers.
“We have a significant programme of support, whether it’s farmers, whether it’s manufacturers, as yesterday with supporting the car industry. So, we can take a two-pronged approach. We can be an open trading nation whilst also supporting British producers and manufacturers.”
Cooper said Reeves’s comments were “an insult to businesses being pushed to the brink by Donald Trump’s trade war”. She said: “This is completely out of touch with the British people who are rallying behind local businesses in their time of need.
“Instead of talking down our high streets, the government needs to send a clear message to the White House that they stand squarely behind British businesses and against Trump’s damaging tariffs. Buying British is a powerful way that people can get behind local businesses and show that as a country we won’t give in to Donald Trump’s bullying.”
Reeves fronted a plan to “make, buy and sell more in Britain” in 2021 when Labour was in opposition, promising to award more public contracts to British businesses and pass a law requiring public bodies to report on how much they are buying from British businesses including small and medium-sized enterprises.
No 10 said the government did want to move towards more British procurement. “We already have got significant ambitions to ensure that we’re supporting British industry,” the spokesperson said. “Obviously, I can’t get ahead of procurement rules and all of that, but it is important that the government is using its weight as a procurer to support British industry, and that will definitely be part of our agenda.
“There’s a lot of work across government to ensure we’ve got the most active, effective state possible that is supporting the economy, that is delivering value for money for taxpayers. We’re always going to back British manufacturers and producers whilst also ensuring that we’re an open trading nation that is exporting around the world.”
While the “Buy British” campaign focuses on physical goods, we must also address our digital independence. The Dutch parliament’s recent steps to reduce reliance on US software highlight the need for greater autonomy in our tech infrastructure. The UK should follow suit, promoting European tech solutions to enhance digital sovereignty and foster domestic innovation. Let’s expand the conversation to include both economic and technological independence. I hope the Lib Dems continue to push this.
@CrowyTech @RubberDuck UK Gov are still flipping posting on Twitter.
Yep 🤦
After reading what the Dutch Parliament did I wrote off to my MP asking if she’d push for UK tech independence, or at least European.
Still waiting for a reply 🙄
@CrowyTech my MP is LD so she’ll probably say “yes, I agree they should, aren’t they awful” and that’ll be it. But I might give it a go.
Seeing as my labour MP is still not replying I’ve also emailed Ed Davey. I know that Parliamentary procedures means he can only respond to his constituents I wanted him to know I support their pushing of the agenda and to keep it up.
Feels like the LDs are the only ones willing to
@CrowyTech yep. Not sure about the Greens, too - they’re pushing for Customs Union and opposing divide and rule at least. But not much voice in parliament.
@CrowyTech feels like we’ve spent years and still nobody in parliament understands tech or even why they *should* understand it.
Erm, she’s aware we’re a tiny island right? I’m all for importing what we need, but we should absolutely be promoting the idea of buying British where possible in order to prop up the economy and keep the money circulating rather than squirting out like a sex wee.
The issue with an official gov promoting buy British. Is our media is seen by all the nations that see it as don’t buy them.
It turns other nations populations against us. While doing little to help our actual economy. Selling to other nations will always have a better effect on our econ then buying ourselves. More so because very little of what we produce is import free.
This was an issue when govs tried it in the late 60s leading up to us joining the EU predecessor.
Any official campaign needs to concentrate on the enemy trying to limit trade. (They ain’t doing that either. And given trumps insanity I’m not sure it would do any good long trrm)
But anything that looks like we are rejecting the rest of the world it def bad for us in the short and long term. More so now we don’t have the EU trade to back us up.
I hear you but I think there’s wiggle room. Think of it like British strawberries or Cali weed. Make it part of the brand rather than the end goal.
At a time when the US are breaking their own absurd tariff rules to shake us down, for seemingly no reason other than just to humiliate us. Our government can’t encourage buying British, but they can take credit for opening an American theme park..
It’s like they’re making a point to the British public that US interests come first.
“We shouldn’t look inward”
Rejoin the EU then.
“No, not like that!”
Supporting local producers is a positive thing to do, tariffs or not.
Seems like they are shit scared of upsetting the orange man-baby.
While I agree, I think the reason might be the economy is on the verge of a down spiral. Their self imposed borrowing rules are becoming problematic, taxes up again in October and we’re getting it tight as it is.
I’m really disappointed in Starmers response. Reminds me a lot of Never Chamberlain.
Starmer leans hard into anti-Trumpism…
Pros:
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it’s the moral thing to do
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he gets to look based on TwitterX for a day before the news cycle forgets
Cons:
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The UK gets thrown into economic turmoil and goes into a recession, possibly a long one, depending on how petty Trump ends up being (probably very)
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Labour is likely forced to further reduce spending and increase taxation
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Reform, already ahead in some polls, becomes the likely next government
I know it would be nice to see the government come out guns blazing, but whether we like it or not, the US is the most powerful economy in the world and they can do a tremendous amount of harm if they want to. Trump is a cunt and absolutely will use that power as a weapon.
The government probably should continue to be pragmatic in regards to the US - give them platitudes while building stronger relationships with other in the meantime, gradually lessening our reliance on the US-UK not-so-special relationship.
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