What are you doing to protect BAE jobs in Lancashire? Fylde MP questions Government over Trump trade tariffs

This week it was announced that 10 per cent tariffs - similar to taxes - would be put on all imports from the UK, apart from the car industry, which will see 25 per cent tariffs. Ultimately, the intent is to protect US manufacturing and bolster jobs by making foreign-made products less attractive. But this can take time, and in the short-term at least has lead to economic uncertainty and share price crashes.

Speaking in Parliament on Thursday, Fylde MP Andrew Snowden, sought assurances on how Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds is working with the Ministry of Defence to protect British manufacturing jobs on UK/US defence programmes, where we export key component parts to the US.

He said: “I’m concerned what this means for the UK defence industry, in particular those companies such as BAE Systems in Fylde and across Lancashire that manufacture component parts for US/UK defence programmes such as the F35.”

He asked the Secretary of State what conversations had been had with the MOD to work with their US counterparts to address this issue from a national security perspective, and asked for clarity that the order of 25 military jets for the RAF will not be used as a bargaining chip in emergency US trade talks, and that “British-built Typhoon jets will be used for the RAF”.

In response, Mr Reynolds said: “I myself have constituency interests very similar to his and the close alignment between ourselves and the US on defence and security matters is an enduring and huge asset to both countries.

“I absolutely share the sentiments that he has raised in the chamber today. He asked about whether we can engage US counterparts in this conversation about a more constructive way forward. Yes, that was always part of our thinking. Actually our trade bodies in the UK have excellent US links in the main and they are engaging in similar activity around that.”

Responding to the concern over RAF plane orders being used as a bargaining chip, Mr Reynolds said he had “no knowledge of anything like that”.