UK regrets ‘return to protectionism’ as Trump’s tariffs spark trade war

BRUSSELS — The U.K.'s top diplomat said Friday that U.S. President Donald Trump's support for protectionism by imposing huge worldwide tariffs was regrettable.

Speaking at NATO headquarters, British Foreign Secretary David Lammy told reporters that America's aversion to free trade was not his preferred policy, in tepid criticism of the White House.

“The United Kingdom, like France, is a great maritime nation," Lammy told reporters. “We are a nation that believes in open trade, and I regret the return to protectionism in the United States, something that we’ve not seen for nearly a century."

The British government is attempting to strike an economic agreement with the U.S. that would remove the 10 percent tariffs on exports.

Lammy added: "We have been absolutely clear that all options are on the table as we ensure the national interests of the British people, who will be very concerned at this time about how this affects the bottom line for them and their economic welfare."

Trump claimed U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer was pleased Britain avoided the 20 percent tariffs slapped on EU goods.

 “We have a very good dialogue," the U.S. president said Thursday. "I think he was very happy about how we treated them with tariffs.”

In a sign retaliatory tariffs haven't been ruled out, U.K. Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds announced the government asked businesses to point to products where tariffs would hurt U.K. companies the least.