LONDON: The UK pledged £20 billion ($26 billion) on Sunday to help exporters including those affected by US tariffs, as President Donald Trump’s sweeping stop-start import taxes roil global markets.
Britain’s finance ministry said the move would expand the UK’s export finance package by £20 billion to a total of £80 billion, with “thousands of UK businesses affected by tariffs set to benefit.”
Up to £10 billion of that support will be used specifically for firms “impacted in the short term by the current situation,” it said.
Finance minister Rachel Reeves said the move would help companies weather difficulties ahead.
“The world is changing, which is why it is more important than ever to back our world-leading businesses and support them to navigate the challenges ahead,” she said.
The finance ministry said small businesses will also be able to access loans of up to £2 million as part of the package.
Analysts have warned that the 10 percent levy on US imports of British goods could further weaken business and consumer sentiment in the UK.
Specific industries such as auto, steel and aluminium face even steeper tariffs as high as 25 percent.
The United States is the UK’s single largest country trading partner, with over £1.2 trillion invested in each other’s economies.
It comes as the UK strives to broker a long-awaited post-Brexit trade deal with the United States.
Asked when it could be completed, Britain’s Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds told Sky News on Sunday he could not give a timeline, saying that Trump was the “driving force and the decision maker… on the US side.”
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