The US has granted exemptions to the UK, while threatening to impose a 30% tariff on European goods.
US President Donald Trump has said he believes UK would support the United States in the event of war, but expressed doubt over whether European Union countries would do the same. He indicated this was one reason he had not pursued a trade agreement with the bloc.
In an interview with the BBC published on Tuesday, Trump said, “One of the problems with NATO, as I said, we have to fight for them, but will they actually fight for us if we had a war?”
“I’m not sure I can say it, but I will say this, I believe that the UK would fight with us. I think that they would be with us. I’m not sure that a lot of the other countries would be,” he added.
Trump, said this view influenced his decision to offer Britain some relief from his tariff policy. The US has granted exemptions to the UK, while threatening to impose a 30% tariff on European goods.
“Look, that’s why I made a deal with them,” Trump said, referring to Britain. “I haven’t made a deal – I mean, I’ve made some other deals but for the most part, in terms of your competitors, and in terms of the European Union, I haven’t made a deal.”
NATO’s mutual defence clause, known as Article 5, has only been invoked once following the attacks on the United States on 11 September 2001. British forces participated in the US-led response.
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