The UK is pushing for a trade deal that could head off US tariffs today after Keir Starmer’s love-in with Donald Trump at the White House.
The president revealed that he hopes a ‘very good’ Transatlantic agreement might be sealed ‘quickly’ as the leaders struck up an unlikely ‘bromance’ last night.
Mr Trump dropped heavy hints that was the best way of avoiding the worst of his levies on imports during a joint press conference in Washington. He said Sir Keir had been ‘working hard’ to convince him Britain should be exempt during their talks.
However, concerns were immediately raised that the pact could run into the same obstacles as the last time Mr Trump was in office.
In a round of interviews this morning, Health Secretary Wes Streeting acknowledged that US food standards – such as whether to allow chlorinated chicken – could be an issue.
He insisted access to the NHS was ‘not on the table’ in discussions, and stressed the ‘hard yard are ahead’.
The UK is pushing for a trade deal that could head off US tariffs today after Keir Starmer ‘s love-in with Donald Trump at the White House
‘The NHS is not up for grabs and not on the table in the context of trade. But there are a number of areas where we can and should work together to deepen the trading relationship between our two countries,’ Mr Streeting
Mr Streeting said he was ‘really excited’ about the prospects of closer trade ties.
‘The warmth and enthusiasm is the bit to get the ball rolling but the hard yards are still ahead,’ he said.
‘The hard yards on this are ahead but we do want to make progress.’
The caution is a reality check after Downing Street’s elation at the way Sir Keir’s visit to the US went.
Mr Trump hailed the premier as ‘special’ and described the UK as America’s ‘No1 ally’. He even complimented Sir Keir’s ‘beautiful’ accent and ‘impressive’ wife Victoria – who was not present on the trip.
In the Oval Office, Sir Keir handed Mr Trump a letter from the King inviting him for an unprecedented second state visit, and he responded that he would be coming to the UK ‘soon’.
The PM lavished praise on Mr Trump’s efforts to bring peace in Ukraine, but stressed any settlement must be lasting and not favour ‘invader’ Vladimir Putin amid continuing doubts about whether the US will offer security guarantees.
He welcomed a bust of Winston Churchill being returned to the Oval Office, and said they wanted to work together on a ‘new economic deal with advanced technology at its core’.
Pitching himself as a fellow ‘winner’ on stage with Mr Trump, Sir Keir acknowledged that they were from very different political traditions. But he said they both believed ‘it’s not the taking part that counts, it’s winning… if you don’t win, you don’t deliver’.
At one point Sir Keir laughed off a question about Mr Trump’s desire to make Canada a US state by saying: ‘I think you are trying to find a divide between us that does not exist.’
Earlier, the smiling PM was greeted by the president with a warm handshake outside the famous building in Washington.
Mr Trump repeatedly raised the prospect of a trade deal – suggesting it might be a way of avoiding the need for tariffs on UK imports.
‘We’re going to have a great trade agreement, one way or another,’ he said.
‘We’re going to end up with a very good trade agreement for both countries and we are working on that as we speak.’
He added: ‘I think we’ll have something, maybe in terms of possibilities, agreed very shortly.
‘We’ll see if we can do something pretty quickly. But we’re going to make some great trade agreements with the UK and with the Prime Minister, and it’ll happen very quickly.’
Mr Trump gave a hint that Britain – which he described as the ‘No1 ally’ – could be spared tariffs as the US goes on the attack over what it claims are unfair trade arrangements with the rest of the world.
Pressed on whether Sir Keir had convinced him not to impose trade tariffs on the UK, Donald Trump said: ‘He tried.’
The US President said: ‘He was working hard, I’ll tell you that. He earned whatever the hell they pay him over there, but he tried.
‘I think there’s a very good chance that in the case of these two great, friendly countries, I think we could very well end up with a real trade deal where the tariffs wouldn’t be necessary. We’ll see.’
