Some commentators have assumed that President Trump is just using tariffs as a negotiating ploy. Given that he has announced tariffs on Canada and Mexico, only to cancel them very quickly, there is a theory that he is doing the same thing again, only on a global scale. Alternatively, there is a view that a prolonged, negative reaction – falling share prices, rising inflation, higher unemployment? – could lead him to change his mind quite soon.

During the Q&A at the Labour local elections campaign launch earlier, Keir Starmer in effect rejected all these theories. He said that what Trump was doing was the start of “a new era”.

And he explicitly compared the challenge posed by Trump’s economic policies to the challenge posed by his security policies, which have led to European countries ramping up defence spending.

In response to a question from Sky’s Beth Rigby, Starmer said:

There’s a really important moment here that we need to understand, because over the last few months we’ve been talking about a new era when it comes to defence and security, and recognising that we are in a changing world, going into a new era, and therefore we have to act and lead differently.

We’re at a similar point for trade and the economy. This is not just a short-term tactical exercise. It is the beginning of a new era.

We need to understand that, just as we’ve understood it for defence and security. We have to understand the changing world when it comes to trade and the economy.

And I’m very concerned that we get this argument out there because it means that we have to adapt in ways which go beyond the mere question of tariffs.

And that’s why I’ve instructed my team to go further and faster on what we need to do to put more resilience and more strength into our economy.

But Starmer did not really explore what the policy implications of this were. In his comments about strengthening the economy, he mostly spoke about things the government is already doing, such as planning reform. Some parties, like the Liberal Democrats, the Green party and Plaid Cymru agree with Starmer about the UK facing a new era, and argue that it is one that requires rejoining the EU single market or the customs union, but Starmer has shown no inclination that he agrees, and instead says the UK should not choose between the US and Europe.