Elon Musk has called for a “free trade zone between Europe and North America” in seeming defiance of Donald Trump.
The Tesla, X and SpaceX boss is an advisor to the US President, who last week introduced sweeping tariffs on goods imported into the US on what he hailed as ‘Liberation Day’.
Almost £4tn has been wiped off the value of global stock markets following the measures, which included 10% tariffs on the UK and 20% on Europe.
On Friday, the FTSE 100 closed more than 7% lower than last Monday – the worst week since the panic seen during COVID.
A 25% tariff has been placed on UK car exports, as well as steel and aluminium products. British luxury carmaker Jaguar Land Rover said at the weekend it has “paused” shipments to the US this month.
Tech billionaire Musk told Matteo Salvini, leader of Italy’s right-wing League Party, that he wants to see a “zero tariff situation” between the US and Europe.
“At the end of the day, I hope it’s agreed that both Europe and the United States should move ideally, in my view, to a zero tariff situation, effectively creating a free trade zone between Europe and North America,” he said in a video conference call.
Shares in Tesla have plummeted 44% since the President took office in January.
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Musk also criticised Peter Navarro, a trade advisor to Trump. After a user on his social media platform X pointed out he has a doctorate from Harvard in economics, Musk responded: “A PhD in Econ from Harvard is a bad thing, not a good thing.”
Musk then responded to another user to say Narvarro “ain’t built s***”.
Last week the UK government published a 400-page list of US goods it could include in any possible tariff response, while China – the world’s second-largest economy – has announced 34% of additional tariffs on imports into China of US goods, mirroring the levy imposed on Beijing by Washington.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said at the weekend that he is prepared to use industrial policy to “shelter British business from the storm”.
Writing in the Sunday Telegraph, he said: “Some people may feel uncomfortable about this – the idea the state should intervene directly to shape the market has often been derided. But we simply cannot cling on to old sentiments when the world is turning this fast.
“This week we will turbocharge plans that will improve our domestic competitiveness, so we’re less exposed to these kinds of global shocks.
“We stand ready to use industrial policy to help shelter British business from the storm.”
Starmer, who spoke to several world leaders over the weekend to discuss how to respond to the US tariffs, said he would also seek to reduce trade barriers with other economies.