TLDR:

UK finance chief Jeremy Hunt has warned Donald Trump that a return to protectionism would be a “profound mistake” if he wins the US election. Hunt’s comments came during a press briefing at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where he criticised Trump’s proposal for a universal tariff on all imported goods. He argued that protectionist measures harm both the countries they target and the countries that introduce them. Hunt’s comments will be seen as a rebuke to the US Republican frontrunner, who has had a mixed relationship with senior UK politicians in the past.

During his first term as US president, Trump imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum imports and declared that “trade wars are good, and easy to win”.

Key Points:

• UK finance chief Jeremy Hunt has warned Donald Trump that a return to protectionism would be a “profound mistake” if he wins the US election.
• Hunt criticised Trump’s proposal for a universal tariff on all imported goods, arguing that protectionist measures harm both the countries they target and the countries that introduce them.
• Trump has had a mixed relationship with senior UK politicians, holding a low opinion of former PM Theresa May, but being closer to her successor Boris Johnson.
• During his first term as US president, Trump imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum imports and declared that “trade wars are good, and easy to win”.

UK finance chief Jeremy Hunt has warned Donald Trump that a return to protectionism would be a “profound mistake” if he wins the US election. Speaking during a press briefing at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Hunt hit out at the Republican party frontrunner’s proposal for a universal tariff on all goods imported into the US. Hunt argued that a “huge flourishing of global trade” has helped to lessen poverty around the world, adding: “It would be a profound mistake to move back to protectionism.” Hunt’s comments will be seen as a direct rebuke of the US Republican frontrunner, who has had a mixed relationship with senior UK politicians in the past. Trump was known to hold a low opinion of former PM Theresa May, whom he undermined during her time in Downing Street. The former president was closer to her successor Boris Johnson, however — even giving Johnson his private phone number.

During his first term as US president, Trump imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum imports and declared that “trade wars are good, and easy to win.”