And he added: “I have been clear that we would like to have discussions about a trade deal with the U.S., that we don’t accept the argument that there’s a binary choice between a reset with the EU and a deal with the U.S. and obviously the time for those decisions will be in the weeks and months to come.”
While the incoming Trump administration is still formulating its trade policy, the president-elect has threatened duties of up to 20 percent on all global imports to the U.S.
Some trade experts and opposition Conservative MPs argue the U.K. will need to distance itself from EU standards in order to escape Trump’s punitive measures.
Officials in the U.K.’s Department for Business and Trade are already prepping for a range of eventualities in Trump’s first weeks, amid fears that some U.K. exports to the U.S. could be seen as low-hanging fruit by the new administration. Experts have picked out the automotive and pharmaceutical sectors as potentially vulnerable.
At a Cabinet meeting earlier this week Starmer set out his government’s aims under Trump’s second administration.
“The prime minister spoke of his determination to pursue a partnership with the U.S. for the 21st century, which would protect security, advance our economic growth and leverage the opportunity of new technologies,” a No. 10 spokesperson said in a statement. Labour’s approach to Trump will be driven by “pragmatism led by the national interest.”
