Downing Street has hit back at Donald Trump after he claimed that trade between the UK and America is “out of line”.

A spokesman for Keir Starmer insisted the two countries have a “fair and balanced” economic relationship.

The president made his comments as he failed to rule out imposing tariffs on British exports to the US.

Trump has already sparked an angry backlash by slapping tariffs - effectively taxes on goods coming into a country - on Mexico and Canada.

He has also vowed to do the same to the EU, saying: “They don’t take our cars, they don’t take our farm products, they take almost nothing and we take everything from them.”

Asked by the BBC if tariffs could also be placed on UK exports, Trump said: “The UK is out of line but I’m sure that one, I think that one, can be worked out.” 

But Keir Starmer’s official spokesman rejected the president’s suggestion that Britain sells more goods to America than it buys in return.

He said: “We’ve got a fair and balanced trading relationship which benefits both sides of the Atlantic.

“It’s worth around £300 billion and we are each other’s single largest investors, with £1.2 trillion invested in each other’s economies.”

Meanwhile, Trump described Starmer as “very nice”, boosting hopes that the UK could avoid US tariffs.

“We’ve had a couple of meetings,” said Trump. We’ve had numerous phone calls. We’re getting along very well.”

Speaking on Sunday, home secretary Yvette Cooper said tariffs were “really damaging” for the world economy.

“The focus for Johnny Reynolds, our business and trade secretary, is on building trade links and better trading relations and removing barriers to trade with the US and also with other European countries and with countries right across the world,” she said.

“We want to reduce the barriers to trade, make it easier for businesses.”

Economists are almost unanimous that tariffs are passed on to the consumer as higher prices.