Ed Davey Has Repeated His Calls For A 'Tesla Tariff' In Response To Donald Trump's Trade War

Ed Davey and Elon MuskEd Davey has repeated his calls for tariffs on Elon Musk’s Tesla cars after Donald Trump slapped a 10% tax on all British imports to the US.The Lib Dem leader, who has a long-running feud with the world’s richest man, also hit out at the government reportedly preparing to water down its tax on tech firms in order to agree a trade deal with America.Davey has been at odds with the X owner since Musk called him a “snivelling cretin”.That came after Davey said Musk “clearly knows nothing about Britain” at the height of the row over child grooming gangs.In an interview with Channel 4 News, Davey was asked what he would do to threaten Trump amid fears of a global trade war.He said: “Let’s put tariffs on Teslas. You know, let’s look at the tech bros. I mean, I’m told that No. 10 in the talks, they’ve discussed cutting the digital services tax, which is a tax paid by very large, 20 multinationals in the tech industry, mostly American.“It’s a very modest tax. They’ve had a monopoly for ages and the idea that we would give up that tax on these hugely wealthy people, including of course Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, at the same time we’re cutting aid to the poorest in our world and welfare benefits in the UK, that would be, I think, unthinkable.”Keir Starmer has refused to join the likes of Canada and the EU in threatening retaliatory tariffs against the US.He said said the government will instead continue to negotiate the terms of a trade deal with Washington which ministers hope will see the tariffs of British imports either reduced or removed completely.However, the government has put the White House on notice by giving British firms until May 1 to set out how retaliatory tariffs will effect them.A 417-page list of US products that could have tariffs imposed them has already been drawn up by the government.Trade secretary Jonathan Reynolds said: “It remains our belief that the best route to economic stability for working people is a negotiated deal with the US that builds on our shared strengths.“However, we do reserve the right to take any action we deem necessary if a deal is not secured.”Related...The UK Has Put Donald Trump On Notice That It Could Retaliate Over His 10% TariffsTories Say Brexit Helped The UK Secure A Better Tariff From Trump. Really?How On Earth Did Vladimir Putin Avoid Donald Trump's Tariffs – But Ukraine Didn't?