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UK chancellor Rachel Reeves has rejected key planks of Donald Trump’s financial agenda forward of talks with Scott Bessent, her US counterpart, saying she is “proud that the UK has its global, open reputation”.
Reeves, who will talk about a doable UK-US commerce cope with Treasury secretary Bessent on Friday, mentioned on the IMF’s spring assembly that she wished to “strengthen” Britain’s place as an open financial system.
In a speech on Thursday, Reeves mentioned the world needed to adapt to a “new era of global trade” and accepted the US president’s willpower to handle what she known as “excessive global trade imbalances”.
However she mentioned world stability trusted decrease commerce obstacles and respect for world establishments, neither of which have been hallmarks of Trump’s presidency thus far.
“We are in a new era of global trade,” Reeves mentioned. “In that new era we need a system that provides security for working people, stability for businesses and prosperity for national economies.”
“To deliver this, we need to do three things: tackle excessive global trade imbalances, reduce barriers to trade and promote strong multilateral institutions.”
Her feedback got here forward of her deliberate assembly with Bessent, the place she is going to press the case for an early UK-US commerce deal to chop Trump’s excessive tariffs on British exports — together with 25 per cent levies on vehicles and metal.
Reeves on Wednesday whereas in Washington mentioned Britain would look to cut back tariffs on imports from the US as a part of a deal, and didn’t reject a suggestion that the nation would possibly lower its 10 per cent levy on American-made vehicles to 2.5 per cent.
Greg Palms, former Conservative commerce minister, mentioned he intentionally retained the ten per cent levy on US vehicles after Brexit as a bargaining chip in any future commerce negotiation in Washington.
Reeves’ feedback put a brand new give attention to the tariffs Britain imposed on US items, lots of them carried over from the pre-Brexit period when the UK was a part of the EU customs union.
Whereas the UK diminished some tariffs after it left the EU, many stay excessive on industries the place the US has a significant exporting curiosity, together with agricultural produce — reminiscent of meat, dairy and seafood — in addition to textiles, chemical substances and the energetic elements in pharmaceutical merchandise.
For instance, British levies on high-quality frozen beef from the US are set at 12 per cent, and distinction with how Irish meat exporters can ship merchandise to Britain tariff-free below the EU-UK commerce deal.
In its newest annual report into overseas commerce obstacles, the US Commerce Consultant singled out some “high tariffs” on American exports to the UK, together with 25 per cent for some fish and seafood merchandise, 10 per cent for vehicles and vans, and as much as 6.5 per cent for sure mineral or chemical fertilisers.
Former UK commerce division official Allie Renison, now at consultancy SEC Newgate, mentioned eradicating or decreasing a few of these tariffs would have a “notable impact” for some US exporters, partly relying on availability of quotas and the way rapidly any levy modifications got here into impact.
Nonetheless, she added many UK non-tariff and regulatory preparations — from meals security requirements that outlaw hormone-treated beef to so-called geographical indications that defend towards overseas rivals to home merchandise reminiscent of Cheddar cheese or Scotch whisky — would make it tough for US industries to take full benefit of the British market.
Renison added UK plans to totally align with EU meals requirements as a part of a veterinary settlement envisaged in a post-Brexit reset of relations between the 2 sides would additionally restrict entry for some US exporters, though Britain may nonetheless admit American merchandise below diminished tariffs that met these necessities.
The UK has mentioned it is not going to decrease meals and agricultural requirements to accommodate calls for made by the US, which has lengthy argued Britain ought to transfer away from EU requirements that it has claimed are “unscientific” and protectionist.
Within the annual report, the US Commerce Consultant mentioned American agricultural exporters “are increasingly concerned” the UK will retain the EU’s method to regulating agricultural chemical substances and pesticides, which it mentioned created restrictions that “do not appear to be science-based”.
