Questions about a possible US trade deal continue to overshadow Rachel Reeves’s mission to Washington as she prepares for talks with her US counterpart.
The Chancellor has travelled to the US capital for the International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s spring meetings with finance ministers from the G7 and G20 this week.
But it is a meeting with US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent scheduled for Friday that has dominated her visit as the Government pursues a deal that would alleviate the impact of Donald Trump’s tariffs.
The US president imposed a 10% levy on British goods earlier this month, along with a 25% charge on steel, aluminium and cars.
Ms Reeves insisted on Wednesday that there was “a deal to be done” and the US administration were “keen”, despite suggestions from senior American officials that the 10% tariff was a “baseline” Mr Trump was unlikely to go below.
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.
Ms Reeves insisted that the Government would not dilute British standards as part of a trade deal, telling BBC News 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”.
But she was less committal on whether the UK would consider reducing tariffs on American vehicles from 10% to 2.5%, something the US administration is reported to be seeking as part of any deal.
Speaking at an event on Wednesday, Ms Reeves suggested tariffs could be reduced on both sides of the Atlantic, saying: “I think that can be a bilateral process between our two countries to remove those remaining trade barriers that do exist.”
Asked directly whether lowering tariffs on US cars was on the table, she told the BBC: “I want to see tariff and non-tariff barriers reduced between the UK and the US.”
In response, Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper said it was “hard to know if there are any red lines the Government isn’t willing to cross in their scramble to secure a Trump trade deal”.
