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The chancellor Rachel Reeves has said that the UK does not want to see trade barriers go up ahead of US president Donald Trump’s looming tariffs.
Speaking before MPs on the Treasury Committee, Reeves expressed her belief that trade barriers should be reduced, not increased, especially with key global partners. She said: “I do believe in free trade. The UK has balanced trade with the United States.
“When our prime minister, Keir Starmer, was in Washington meeting president Trump just a few weeks ago, they agreed to start a rapid dialogue on an economic agreement. That work is ongoing at the moment.
“We do not want to see trade barriers go up, indeed we want to see trade barriers fall, not just with the United States but without our nearest neighbours and trading partners in the European Union, with India and other countries around the world.”
Her comments came shortly after Starmer told MPs that the UK has “prepared for all eventualities” ahead of the anticipated US tariffs, which were expected to be confirmed later on Wednesday.
He told the Commons: 'We’ve been preparing for all eventualities ahead of the confirmation of US tariffs later today.
"Let me be clear with the House, a trade war is in nobody’s interest, and the country deserves — and we will take — a calm, pragmatic approach."
However, to the Treasury Committee, Reeves said the government will respond to the Trump tariffs in a calm way.
She said: “We don’t want to be posturing here, the prize on offer is a good economic agreement between us and the United States”.
“We are not going to do anything to put that in jeopardy, we are not going to rush into action to get a quick headline.”
However, Reeves acknowledged that even if an economic deal with the United States is secured, the UK would not be “out of the woods” concerning tariffs. She pointed out that the broader impact on the UK economy would likely come from "global tariffs," particularly as rising inflation and depressed demand in other countries could exacerbate the effects.
She said: “I think that’s really important to understand, because even if we are able to secure an economic deal with the United States — which we very much want to secure and are working hard to secure that — even if that’s possible, [it] doesn’t mean somehow that we are out of the woods and not impacted by tariffs.
“So we don’t just want to see an agreement between the UK and the US, we want to see free trade, fair trade continue.”