Bank of England chief: Britain nonetheless worse off from tariffs

Andrew Bailey yesterday welcomed the US-UK trade deal – but warned that Britain is still worse off than it was before Donald Trump launched his tariffs.

The Bank of England governor said the deal – which cuts US tariffs on cars, steel and aluminium – was ‘good news’ but still left duties higher than they were before April.

‘It’s good news in a world where it will leave the effective tariff rate higher than it was before all of this started,’ Bailey said at an economics conference in Reykjavik.

He added the three-way split in the Monetary Policy Committee’s (MPC) vote on interest rates showed there was no ‘groupthink’ at the Bank.

Caution: Andrew Bailey warned that Britain is still worse off than it was before Donald Trump launched his tariffs

Officials have been criticised for failing to challenge the view dictated by Bailey and his deputies. He was one of five members to vote for rates to be cut from 4.5 per cent to 4.25 per cent. Two members wanted a cut to 4 per cent and another pair voted for no rate cut at all.

‘Policy discussions on the MPC are open, frank and lively – as they should be,’ said Bailey. ‘Differences of views are inevitable consequences of the uncertainty we face.’