Chancellor Rachel Reeves has made sweeping claims over who the UK has the strongest trading relationship with. In a major snub to US President Donald Trump, Ms Reeves argued that Europe is more important to Britain.. Following this, Downing Street refused to back the Chancellor’s claims, stating that both should be treated with “enormous respect”.
On Friday, the Chancellor said on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I understand why there’s so much focus on our trading relationship with the US, but actually our trading relationship with Europe is arguably even more important because they are our nearest neighbours and trading partners.
“Obviously I’ve been meeting Scott Bessent this week while I’m in Washington, but I’ve also this week met the French, the German, the Spanish, the Polish, the Swedish, the Finnish finance ministers because it is so important that we rebuild those trading relationships with our nearest neighbours in Europe, and we’re going to do that in a way that is good for British jobs and British consumers.”
Later that day, the Prime Minister’s spokesperson was quizzed on these comments. They said, while it was a “statement of fact” that Brussels was the UK’s largest trading partner, they refused to agree that it made the EU more important than the US.
The spokesman stated: “As the Prime Minister has said, it’s a false choice to make between the two. Both are of incredible importance to us, and we treat both with enormous respect.”
Responding to this, the shadow business and trade secretary Andrew Griffith told the Telegraph: “Going to Washington to get a trade deal only to say she views the EU as more important is a major gaffe by this foot-in-mouth Chancellor.”
Mr Griffith explained how the US is “our single largest trading partner”, adding that the Chancellor is “out of her depth and making bad choices”.
Ms Reeves met with the US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent last night before posting a picture of the two shaking hands on social media. She wrote: “The UK-US relationship has delivered prosperity for businesses and working people on both sides of the Atlantic.”
Lord Mandelson, the British ambassador to the US, was also in attendance at the meeting. Following the talks, British officials said that the UK was confident a trade deal was in sight.
