Chancellor Rachel Reeves will use a trip to Washington this week to make the case for global free trade, while also urging the Trump administration to cut punitive tariffs on UK car and steel exports.
Reeves will discuss a possible UK/US trade deal when she meets US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent for the first time, stressing that Britain will not strike a deal at any price.
But Reeves will use the spring meetings of the IMF and World Bank in Washington — attended by top finance ministers and central bankers — to make the broader case for free and open trade.
The chancellor, who is seeking to strengthen Britain’s economic ties with the EU, China and India, will argue that free trade is in Britain’s national interest, according to her allies.
The meetings in Washington mark the first major gathering in the US capital of top economy policymakers since Donald Trump’s inauguration as US president in January, adding an edge to their discussions.
The meetings are set to be marked by downgrades to global growth forecasts by the IMF as mounting trade barriers weigh on major economies including the US, Europe and China.
One person briefed on Reeves’ plans said that “acting in Britain’s national interest means continuing to work for free and open trade globally” — a case the chancellor will make repeatedly during her time in Washington.
The chancellor is scheduled to take part in an IMF public session — a debate on the global economy — on Thursday and will hold talks with counterparts including Bessent on the economic outlook.
Bessent is seen in London as one of the less hardline voices on trade within the Trump administration but White House officials have indicated the baseline 10 per cent tariff Trump has imposed on many countries including the UK could stay.
British ministers and the UK’s ambassador in Washington, Lord Peter Mandelson, are particularly focused on persuading Trump to cut his 25 per cent global tariff on car and steel imports as they relate to Britain.
While Britain is prepared to cut its digital services tax, which hits US tech firms, and reduce tariffs on some US meat and seafood exports, other Trump demands could prove too tough for Sir Keir Starmer’s government.
Starmer has ruled out relaxing Britain’s food safety standards, including those covering US beef and chicken exports, and any dilution of Britain’s online safety laws would provoke a big political backlash.
Reeves, speaking last week ahead of her visit to the US, said: “Any deal that is able to be secured will always have front and centre British national interest.”
The chancellor is also pushing for an ambitious deal to reduce barriers to trade with the EU, for instance, aligning UK food standards with those in the rest of Europe to streamline cross-channel trade.
Any concessions by Britain to Trump on food standards — a long-standing US demand in any trade discussions — could jeopardise hopes of closer relations with the EU. Starmer is hosting a UK/EU summit on May 19 to “reset” trade and security ties that suffered as a result of Brexit.
One person briefed on the UK/US trade talks said progress was being made “in fits and starts” but added: “We need the right deal not a quick deal, but we need it done to progress on a tech partnership.”
Reeves has not met Bessent before but the two have spoken regularly on the phone, according to British officials.
However British officials caution that they do not expect Reeves’ meeting with Bessent this week to be a “breakthrough moment” in trade talks with the US.
In a phone call on Good Friday, Starmer and Trump discussed the state of discussions on a possible UK/US deal, with Downing Street describing the talks as “ongoing and productive”.
However Number 10’s official account of the call suggested that Starmer had reminded Trump that there were some red lines in his negotiating position.
“The prime minister reiterated his commitment to free and open trade and the importance of protecting the national interest,” Number 10 said.
