1 week Ago By The Telegraph
Nigel Farage has compared Donald Trump’s trade war to Liz Truss’s mini-Budget. The Reform UK leader said the US president had tried to do “too much too soon” and that he had “never agreed” with Mr Trump’s tariff policy which triggered global economic turmoil. Mr Farage, a staunch Trump ally, also said it remained to be seen whether the US president would be proven to be a “chump or champion” over his approach.
The comments came after Mr Trump paused the roll-out of swingeing tariffs on countries across the world but continued to escalate a row with China. The UK and other countries will still face a 10 per cent baseline rate on goods but the White House has hit China with a levy of 145 per cent, prompting Beijing to respond with a 125 per cent tariff on US goods. Financial markets remain in a state of uncertainty, with Japan’s Nikkei stock index having plunged 3 per cent overnight after a drop on Wall Street, while oil prices were on track to drop for a second consecutive week.
China row hangs in the balance Asked if he believed Mr Trump would emerge as a “chump or champion” over his trade stance, Mr Farage told LBC on Friday: “Remains to be seen. I’ve never agreed with the tariff policy. “I do understand, though, that China poses an existential threat to the West economically and perhaps even, ultimately, in different ways as well.
“Do you know what, I think Trump did too much too soon, rather like Liz Truss did a couple of years ago. “I’ve never in my life before seen stock markets fall quickly and bond markets fall at the same time. “So there’s little doubt that Scott Bessent, the treasury secretary, who’s also a friend of mine, played a decisive role in saying, whoa, we’ve got to ease back on this.
As for slugging it out with China, who’s going to win, right now, I just don’t know.” Ms Truss unveiled her mini-Budget in September 2022 and it contained a series of significant tax cuts, including a plan to abolish the highest rate of income tax. However, it was not accompanied by an Office for Budget Responsibility report setting out how the measures would be paid for.
Chaos on the financial markets followed that ultimately pushed up the cost of interest rates and government borrowing. Ms Truss was forced to backtrack and ultimately quit No 10 just weeks later. The former premier has since defended her legacy, arguing the mini-Budget had been “undermined by the economic establishment”.
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