UK economy could see a “rocky four years” following Trump inauguration, says Oxfordshire Professor
The 47th President has vowed to 'put America first'
Last updated 21st Jan 2025
A Professor from Oxfordshire is warning that the UK economy could see a “rocky four years” following the inauguration of Donald Trump.
Shortly after Trump was sworn in as the 47th President he vowed to “put America first” and says the “Golden Age of America begins now”.
Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on all imports into the United States, singling out Canada, Mexico, and China as countries that could face steeper measures.
'The special relationship is severely watered down'
Dr Mark Shanahan, from Abingdon, is a professor specialising in Presidential politics, he said: “We don't know exactly what's going to happen with Trump's tariffs, but the UK could find itself stuck between a rock and a hard place.”
“If Trump imposes tariffs, we could be in for a very rocky four years, economically”
He added: “The previous Conservative Government spent a lot of time trying to get some kind of free trade deal with Donald Trump and that may still be on the cards in the future, but it's likely to be very asymmetric and biassed in favour of America.
“We can't necessarily look to America as a natural friends now. The special relationship, if it ever existed, is very, very severely watered down, at least at political levels.
“It may well be for the UK to thrive over the next four years, we've got to have a closer relationship with Europe.”
Trump's First Few Hours in Office
President Donald Trump on Monday said he was pardoning about 1500 supporters who have been charged in the January 6 2021, US Capitol attack.
He has directed the Attorney General to seek the dismissal of about 450 pending criminal cases tied to the riots.
The pardons were expected after Mr Trump's yearslong campaign to rewrite the history of the January 6 attack that left more than 100 police officers injured and threatened the peaceful transfer of power.
The scope of the clemency still comes as a massive blow to the Justice Department's effort to hold participants accountable over what has been described as one of the darkest days in American history.
Vice President JD Vance had said just days ago that people responsible for the violence during the Capitol riot "obviously" should not be pardoned.
President Donald Trump also signed an executive order directing the United States to again withdraw from the landmark Paris climate agreement, dealing a blow to worldwide efforts to combat global warming and once again distancing the US from its closest allies.
Mr Trump's action, hours after he was sworn in to a second term, echoed his directive in 2017, when he announced that the US would abandon the global Paris accord.
The pact is aimed at limiting long-term global warming to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels or, failing that, keeping temperatures at least well below 2C above pre-industrial levels.