Starmer told to side with Commonwealth ally Canada against 'playground bully' Trump's tariff threats

Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey calls for emergency summit of the Commonwealth with Canada, with whom the UK shares a head of state, over Trump’s punishing trade tariffs

Keir Starmer has been urged to hold an emergency summit of the Commonwealth with Canada to formulate a joint response to Donald Trump’s trade tariffs.

As well as being a key member of the Commonwealth, Canada and the UK both share a head of state in King Charles.

President Trump has sparked a new trade war by announcing a 25 percent tariff on Canadian goods entering the US.

The president also claimed on Sunday that without a massive subsidy from the US “Canada ceases to exist as a viable country”, as he renewed his calls for it to become America’s 51st state.

Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey said an urgent meeting was needed, as “we mustn’t let Donald Trump bully the UK or our close ally Canada, who we share a head of state with.”

Keir Starmer has been urged to hold an emergency summit of the Commonwealth with Canada over Trump’s trade tariffs (AP/PA)

He also accused the new President of “playground bully” tactics and forgetting who America’s real friends are.

Sir Ed said: “We mustn’t let Donald Trump bully the UK or our close ally Canada, who we share a head of state with. Trump’s tariffs on our Commonwealth partner are a shocking way to treat a country that stood alongside both the US and the UK during the Second World War.”

He added: “We need to work with our allies in the Commonwealth and Europe to stand strong against Trump and remind him that we are America’s longest standing friends. So the Prime Minister should invite Commonwealth leaders to London as soon as he returns from Brussels, to discuss a joint response to the global trade war Trump is unleashing.”

Canada’s outgoing prime minister Justin Trudeau has ordered retaliatory tariffs against the US (AFP via Getty Images)

He also hit out at the Republican saying he was “acting like a playground bully” and “ trying to play our allies off against each other”.

In response, he said: “We must stand together against his attempts to divide us. Only by showing our combined strength can we persuade the President to behave properly with America’s friends.

“The British government can’t just sit back and hope Trump won’t hit us with tariffs directly. He’s proven time and again how unpredictable he is and our economy will be hurt by this trade war anyway, which will push up prices for families in the UK.”

In response to President Trump’s announcement, the country’s outgoing prime minister Justin Trudeau has ordered retaliatory tariffs against the US.