Huckabee: US will ‘without a doubt’ respond to UK trade ban on Israeli settlements

US Ambassador Mike Huckabee warns London that the Trump administration will likely respond to sanctions on Israeli towns in Judea and Samaria with sanctions on British companies, citing US anti-BDS laws.

By World Israel News Staff

The United States stepped up pressure on Britain Tuesday over its planned ban on trade with Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria, with US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee warning that the move would “without a doubt” provoke an American response and could inflict significant costs on British companies.

The warning came hours before British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband was expected to formally unveil restrictions on goods and some services connected to Israeli settlements as part of what the government has described as a broad reset of its Israel policy.

Huckabee said Washington had not yet announced precisely what action it might take but suggested repercussions could come both from the federal government and individual US states.

“I think without a doubt there will be” a US reaction, Huckabee told the BBC.

He warned that British businesses could face a “huge economic impact” if US states invoke anti-boycott laws against companies complying with the British restrictions.

“I don’t know what all of the national sanctions or repercussions or retaliations will be from the US, it hasn’t been announced yet,” Huckabee said.

He pointed specifically to Florida, warning that the state’s laws could prevent affected British companies from doing business with state and local authorities.

Huckabee also accused Britain of discriminating against Israel and Jews.

“I feel like it’s discrimination against the Israeli government. It’s a discrimination against the Jewish people,” he said.

“I also would tell you that I don’t know if they have thought it through. It’s like throwing a stone and not having an idea of where it’s going to land.”

“The UK is a sovereign country; they can do what they want, but so is the US,” he added.

The ambassador’s intervention followed an even sharper warning from Rep. Randy Fine, a Florida Republican who helped advance the state’s anti-BDS legislation while serving in the Florida legislature.

Fine said British companies forced to comply with the settlement boycott could run afoul of Florida laws restricting government business with companies deemed to be boycotting Israel.

“Florida is one of Britain’s largest trading partners,” Fine said. “They should understand that their vanity project in support of Muslim terror could cost them billions of dollars.”

“Any company — or nation — that boycotts Israel is boycotted by Florida,” he added.

Florida law restricts state and local government contracts with companies engaged in certain boycotts of Israel and explicitly includes discriminatory commercial restrictions involving people and companies operating in “Israeli-controlled territories.”

Fine has cited Airbnb as a precedent. Florida placed the accommodation company on a scrutinized-companies list after Airbnb announced in 2018 that it would remove listings in Israeli settlements in Judea and Samaria. Airbnb subsequently reversed the policy, and Florida removed it from the list in 2019.

The growing US criticism comes as Britain’s new government prepares one of its most significant breaks with Israel in years.

Miliband is expected to announce a prohibition on trade in goods and some services connected to Israeli settlements. Britain already denies settlement goods preferential tariff treatment and strongly advises British companies against economic activity there, but the new measures would turn some activities that are currently discouraged into prohibited transactions.

British officials have stressed that the measure does not amount to a general boycott of Israel.

“At the heart of the statement is the idea that the UK, along with many other countries, do not want to see the possibility of a two-state solution in Israel and Palestine being erased by changes to the facts on the ground,” Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden said Tuesday.

He said the British government had become particularly alarmed by accelerating Israeli construction in the E1 area east of Jerusalem.

“I think it’s also important to say that Israel is an important trading partner for the UK,” McFadden added. “This isn’t intended to be a boycott of all Israeli goods.”

Total trade in goods and services between Britain and Israel was approximately £6 billion in 2025. Trade specifically involving Israeli communities beyond the 1949 armistice lines represents only a small portion of that figure, meaning the immediate direct economic effect of the British measures is expected to be limited.

The potential secondary consequences, however, could be considerably larger if Washington or individual US states retaliate against British companies.

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham spoke with President Donald Trump on Monday ahead of the expected announcement. Downing Street said Burnham emphasized “the importance of a two-state solution,” but its account of the call did not disclose Trump’s response or say whether the settlement sanctions were discussed in detail.

The measure has also triggered threats of retaliation from Israel.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for Britain’s ambassador to Israel to be expelled, while National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has suggested Israel recognize Argentina’s sovereignty claim over the Falkland Islands.

The British government says the new policy was prompted in part by Israel’s continued expansion of communities in Judea and Samaria, particularly plans for approximately 1,200 additional homes in E1.