Reeves says at G20 UK will work out barrier busting with Trump

Cape Town — British chancellor of the exchequer Rachel Reeves said on Wednesday she was confident that US-UK trade and investment would not be derailed as President Donald Trump threatens to retaliate against what he sees as barriers to US exports.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is due to meet Trump in Washington on Thursday, with the risk of trade tariffs as one of the key issues on the table.

“The last time president Trump was in the White House, trade and investment flows between our two countries increased, and I’ve got every confidence that that can happen again,” Reeves said on the sidelines of a Group of 20 finance chiefs meeting in SA.

Trump has said value added taxes levied by European countries represent an unfair barrier to US exports. Asked if Britain was likely to change its tax regime, Reeves said: “Decisions on tax are for the UK government to make.”

Imports and exports of goods and services between Britain and the US totalled $317bn in 2023, the US Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) says, making Britain the fifth-biggest US trade partner after Canada, Mexico, China and Germany.

The US is Britain’s single biggest national trade partner, though the UK trades far more with the 27 members of the EU as a bloc.

Trump said earlier this month that he thought something could be “worked out” with Britain on the threat of tariffs while he sounded more threatening towards EU countries.

A trade war with the US could undermine the plans of Starmer and Reeves to speed up Britain’s slow economy, which barely grew in the second half of last year.

Reeves is due to announce new economic and fiscal forecasts from Britain’s independent budget watchdog on March 26, a key date for investors as she may have to explain how she will meet her fiscal rules that appear to be in danger of being broken.

Asked if she was worried about an adverse reaction in financial markets on March 26, Reeves said she would not give a running commentary on preparations.

“We took the action that was necessary in October to secure our public finances,” she said. “Public services now need to live within the means that we’ve set.”

Reuters