23rd Apr 2025 18:49
(Alliance News) - The UK Chancellor has insisted the US is "keen to do a deal with the UK" ahead of talks with her American counterpart in Washington.
Rachel Reeves has travelled to the US capital for the International Monetary Fund's spring meetings of G7 and G20 finance ministers.
But she is also expected to meet US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent on Friday in an attempt to make progress on negotiations for a UK-US economic deal aimed at mitigating the impact of tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump earlier this month.
The UK was placed in the lowest tier when Trump unveiled his global tariffs on April 4, facing a 10% levy on all goods except cars, steel and aluminium, which attract a 25% charge.
Ministers are hopeful a deal can be done to reduce that rate, with Reeves telling an event in Washington on Wednesday: "What we hear from the US administration is that they are keen to do a deal with the UK, reflecting the closeness of that relationship."
US Vice President JD Vance suggested earlier in April that there was a "good chance" of a UK-US deal, but US officials have suggested there is little scope for any country securing tariffs of less than 10%, saying Trump regards that figure as a "baseline".
Asked whether reducing US tariffs below 10% was a realistic aim, Reeves told ITV News: "Let's see where we get to. Those discussions are ongoing. They're going well."
But she declined to put a timetable on when an agreement might be reached, saying: "We're not going to rush into a deal."
Speaking at a World Economic Summit hosted by news website Semafor on Wednesday, Reeves suggested that she would want to see tariffs and non-tariff barriers reduced on both sides of the Atlantic as part of a deal.
She said: "I think that can be a bilateral process between our two countries to remove those remaining trade barriers that do exist, and if we work on that basis there is a deal to be done that will benefit industry both in the UK and the US and jobs in our countries as well."
The Chancellor also suggested that she would look to go beyond a deal on tariffs, including a "technology partnership" and "building on the close relationship we have on security and national defence".
She said: "This isn't just about damage limitation, it's also about what the next step is."
But the Chancellor has also appeared to rule out at least some changes to non-tariff barriers that the US is thought to be seeking.
One sticking point is likely to be agricultural imports, with some US exports not meeting UK food standards.
But Reeves insisted that the government would not dilute British standards as part of a trade deal, telling BBC News on Wednesday the US administration "respect and understand that".
She also appeared to rule out changes to the Online Safety Act, which some US politicians regard as restricting free speech, telling Sky News: "We've just passed the Online Safety Act and the safety, particularly of our children, is non-negotiable for the British Government."
Asked about changes to road safety laws that would allow American SUVs to be sold in the UK, she said the government was "not going to water down areas of road safety".
Meanwhile, Wednesday saw Reeves announce the government would take action to stop high street retailers being "undercut" by cheap imports, beefing up the Trade Remedies Authority and reviewing the rules on low-value imports.
The fallout from Trump's imposition of sweeping tariffs has sparked concern that some cheap goods that had been destined for the US will be rerouted to the UK, placing British companies at an unfair disadvantage.
By Christopher McKeon, PA Political Correspondent
source: PA
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