Mr Trump is expected to move quickly on trade policy after he is sworn into the White House in January as he views them as a key negotiating tool with US trade partners.
China is expected to bear the brunt of Mr Trump’s trade war. The Republican president-elect has promised to impose tariffs of 60pc on China, reflecting his view that US manufacturers have been unfairly undercut.
However, Mr Trump has also made clear in the past that he views the EU as an adversary.
He told CBS News in 2018: “I think the European Union is a foe, what they do to us in trade. Now you wouldn’t think of the European Union, but they’re a foe … In a trade sense, they’ve really taken advantage of us.”
Having a Labour Government may complicate things. Mr Trump was used to working with Conservative prime ministers Theresa May and Boris Johnson. Mr Murphy said. “Whether or not there is a political party bias or not, I can’t tell.”
Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s potential working relationship with Mr Trump came under pressure last month when the Trump campaign accused the Labour Party of “blatant foreign interference” in the US election.
Mr Trump’s campaign filed a federal complaint after 100 Labour activists travelled to the US to help the Democratic campaign. In October, Mr Trump’s former secretary of commerce Wilbur Ross told The Telegraph that the episode “certainly would not help relations” between the US and UK if Mr Trump won the presidency.
Mr Murphy was speaking while on a five-day economic mission to the UK to strengthen ties and boost international investment between the UK and New Jersey. He said that trade relations between the UK and individual states should withstand potential future disruptions.
The UK is New Jersey’s second largest trading partner globally. Britain signed a memorandum of understanding with the state in 2021 agreeing trade mechanisms.
Mr Murphy said he is “looking at all options” on whether the state of New Jersey can make its own policy response to Mr Trump’s trade tariffs.
Separately, Goldman Sachs said British stocks should perform better than their European markets under a Trump presidency.
In a note to clients, Lilia Peytavin, an analyst, said: “The FTSE 100 appears relatively better positioned than other European equity indices to the implications from the election of Trump.”
This is because 30pc of FTSE 100 revenues are from the US, where businesses are likely to benefit from the corporate tax cuts Mr Trump has promised.