According to The Times, the UK Prime Minister is expected to acknowledge the end of globalization in an upcoming speech, while also stating tariffs are wrong, but understanding Trump’s economic nationalism.
Keir Starmer, the British Prime Minister, is set to deliver a speech on Monday where he will recognize the end of the globalization era, as reported by The Times.
The address is reportedly a response to US President Donald Trump’s recent imposition of extensive tariffs on numerous American trading partners, including the UK, according to Sunday’s article.
The Times indicates that Starmer will state that tariffs are “wrong,” but will also emphasize his understanding of Trump’s “economic nationalism” and the reasons behind voter support for it, stemming from a perceived lack of benefits from free trade and mass immigration.
Starmer is also expected to highlight that the consequences of the US import charges necessitate a faster and more significant push from the London government to stimulate domestic economic growth.
An unnamed Downing Street source told The Times that “the world has changed, globalization is over and we are now in a new era.”
“We have got to demonstrate that our approach, a more active Labour government, a more reformist government, can provide the answers for people in every part of this country,” the official stated.
In an article for The Telegram published the previous day, the Prime Minister had already stated that “the world as we knew it has gone” in light of Trump’s tariffs. “First it was defense and national security. Now it is the global economy and trade. Old assumptions can no longer be taken for granted,” he wrote, adding that the British government would soon “turbocharge plans that will improve our domestic competitiveness, so we’re less exposed to these kinds of global shocks.”
Starmer also spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday, with both leaders agreeing that “a trade war was in nobody’s interests, but nothing should be off the table,” according to the UK government’s summary of the conversation. The British PM has no plans to call Trump regarding the tariffs.
On the same day, the US President urged Americans to “hang tough” as they await the international community’s reaction to his economic policies.
”It won’t be easy, but the end result will be historic,” Trump asserted, adding that the tariffs represent “an economic revolution, and we will win… we will make America great again.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin has frequently discussed the end of the globalization period, which began after the Soviet Union’s dissolution in 1991.
In late 2023, Putin commented that “it is obvious that the globalization model, which was formed to a large extent by Western states – naturally, in their own interests – has outlived its usefulness and is in deep crisis. A new, more just and democratic system of international relations is being formed, which meets the needs of the global majority.”