LIVERPOOL, England — The U.K. Labour government has been “validated entirely” on its decision to engage with U.S. President Donald Trump’s “assertive” America First agenda, Chief Whip Jonathan Reynolds has said.
Speaking at the POLITICO Pub at the Labour conference on Monday, Reynolds said the government had the “best terms of trade” with the U.S. of any comparable country and had seen “tens of thousands of jobs” because of its trade agreement with the U.S. administration.
His comments come after he was moved from his previous role as business and trade secretary, where he dealt frequently with the Trump administration.
Reynolds also chastised the country’s opposition parties, including the Liberal Democrats, who have called for the U.K. to distance itself from the Trump administration, saying: “You can say that if you’re the opposition, but that’s not serious.
“The defense of our country, our economy, thousands of jobs depend on that relationship.”
His comments come two weeks after Donald Trump’s state visit to Britain, which saw the two countries sign a tech pact that will see more than £150 billion of inward investment to the U.K.
The two countries also signed a trade agreement in May that was partially implemented in June.
Reynolds discussed some of the difficulties in engaging with the Trump administration, saying “there’s not always an alignment” between the U.S. Trade Representative’s Office and the country’s Commerce Department.
He added that the decision to go ahead with automotive and aerospace tariffs was “so important” to the country in securing a deal, adding that while the U.K. had to concede on beef and ethanol liberalization, the former was “reciprocal” and granted the U.K. “tremendous” market access in the U.S.
However, he did address the lack of agreement on lowering U.S. steel tariffs from their current rate of 25 percent, saying: “The offer was essentially not sufficient to justify moving away from having a 25 percent tariff.”
He also said the U.S. was “making [its] own products more expensive on global markets” by charging a tariff on U.K. steel.
Reynolds concluded his remarks on the U.K.-U.S. relationship by saying that neither country had secured everything it wanted, and that it was the “right thing to do” for the U.K. to continue to work with its ally.
Government decision to engage with Trump ‘validated entirely’, says top Starmer ally
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