BREAKING NEWS: Massive trade war erupts between United States and Great Britain [View all]

[Tommy Carcetti]

Following up on high profile trade disputes with Canada, Mexico and China, President Donald Trump has now set his sights on his next target for tariffs: Great Britain.

Yesterday, Trump announced that he planned to enact tariffs on a large variety of British imports, specifically aluminum, vitamins, bananas, herbs, vases, scones, mobile phones, potatoes, tomatoes, and garage doors.

Push back across the Atlantic was swift, with UK Minister of State for Trade Policy Douglas Alexander announcing that Great Britain in turn would be placing tariffs on what he deemed "niche" items, including aluminum, vitamins, bananas, herbs, vases, scones, mobile phones, potatoes, tomatoes and garage doors.

This move left Alexander's American counterpart rather puzzled.

"Frankly, it's like they responded with putting tariffs on what sounds like completely different items," US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnik said in comments to the press. "Yes, we were expecting some sort of pushback, but more along the lines of a tit-for-tat. We were prepared for a reciprocal response, not this random scattershot attack on vastly unrelated goods."

Alexander replied that he found Lutnik's statements to be "patronizing" but added the British government's decision of how to target its tariffs against the United States were made in the "privacy" of its own chambers.

Despite the high level of tension between the two countries, British Prime Minister Kier Starmer remained optimistic for a resolution.

"Let's call the whole thing off," Starmer said.

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