Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th President on Monday (Image: Getty)
Chancellor Rachel Reeves said she wants to hold urgent talks with US President ‘s new adminstration to plead for the UK to be exempt from Mr Trump’s tariffs on imports.
Mr Trump has threatened to impose a 10% tariff on Chinese-made goods arriving in the US from February 1 and said he was also considering charges on goods from EU countries.
Ms Reeves hopes to talk to her equivalent in the US Scott Bessent, Mr Trump’s nomination for Treasury Secrerary. She said: “I’ve already been to the US twice since I became Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Britain has a strong, close relationship, a special relationship with the United States.
“When my opposite number, Scott Bessent, is confirmed, I hope to meet him as soon as possible to talk to him about how we can work together to grow both our economies, improve our trade, and indeed improve our economic security.”
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Speaking from the World Economic Forum in Davos, she suggested the UK might be spared tariffs which academics have predicted will cost our economy £2.5 billion every year, because we import more US goods than we sell to America.
Ms Reeves told Sky News: “The UK has a trade deficit with the United States. President Trump is concerned about the trade surpluses that countries around the world are running with the United States: That’s not the case for the UK. And so we will work with the Trump administration to get a good deal for Britain and make the case as well for the continuation of that strong trade and investment relationship between our two great countries.”
Setting out the arguments she will make to the US, she said: “I believe in free and open trade, and I’ll be making that case to my counterparts in the United States.
“I’m excited about the opportunity to work with the new Trump administration. Trade between the UK and the US is worth £300 billion a year. A million Brits work for American firms. A million Americans work for British firms. So our economies are closely intertwined, and I look forward to enhancing and strengthening that relationship.”
The Chancellor also insisted she had a plan to grow the economy despite increasing National Insurance for employers, a move that critics say has held back growth.
She said: “I’m not going to deny that the tax is for businesses and for some of the wealthiest have increased in the budget, but we faced a £22 billion black hole in the public finances when I became Chancellor.
“The inheritance left by the previous government to bring stability back to the economy, something that businesses absolutely need to make investment decisions.
“It was necessary to make difficult decisions on welfare, on spending and taxation. I’ve now made those decisions, drawn a line under the economic and fiscal mismanagement of the previous government so that we can move forward and get with that growth agenda of regulating better, of reforming the planning system, reforming pensions, making it easier to build and get things done in Britain.”