SIR Keir Starmer’s eleventh hour bid for Britain to be excluded from new US tariffs was flatly rejected by Donald Trump, The Sun can reveal.
The PM invited the US President to visit the UK this June to sign a new limited trade deal that would swerve new export taxes, yet was snubbed on Sunday evening.
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The Sun can reveal the weekend call between the pair failed to reach any resolution beyond President Trump promising to look into the details of the planned economic pact.
Sir Keir’s attempts to flatter the American chief into sparing British firms from the economic hit fell on deaf ears despite an offer to sign the deal in just three months’ time.
One well placed source said the PM had “pleaded” for more time for the UK and US to hammer out a deal.
But No10 insiders rejected that suggestion and said an exemption was never directly asked for during the PM’s update for the President on the status of negotiations.
Sources say Mr Trump promised to look at the details of proposals but was not directly involved in the talks.
The White House is due to unveil sweeping import taxes on goods on Wednesday, in what Mr Trump has dubbed “liberation day”.
But tonight No10 conceded that Britain is unlikely to be exempt by the time the tariffs hit this week, with talks “likely to continue beyond Wednesday”.
Mr Trump has already announced a 25% import tax will be introduced on all cars imported to the US, in a major blow to Britain’s high end car production like Aston Martins and Range Rovers.
Nearly 17 per cent of all UK cars exported go to America, with more than 100,000 cars shipped last year worth almost £8 billion.
Other tariffs that could be announced on April 2 may include a general 20% tax on UK products in response to the rate of VAT we charge on American imports that Mr Trump says is a tariff by any other name.
A Downing Street said “Our trade teams are continuing to have constructive discussions to agree a UK-US economic prosperity deal.
A spokesman refused to “put a time frame on those discussions.”
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