UK/Reynolds: Britain's Balanced Trade with the US Mitigates Trump Tariff Risks

In an interview with Financial Times, UK Secretary of State for Business and Industrial Strategy Jonathan Reynolds claimed that the UK’s balanced trade with the US would reduce the risk of new tariffs being imposed on UK goods by Donald Trump. The new President of the US has threatened to impose higher tariffs on all imported goods, prompting trading partners around the world to consider how to respond to this threat. Reynolds noted that even if Trump were to impose new tariffs on the UK, the government would think very carefully about retaliating, adding, "There is no political constituency for protectionism in this country." In the interview for the Global Boardroom program, set to be released on Friday, Reynolds also downplayed the likelihood of a traditional free trade agreement between the UK and the US, admitting that the UK's food standards regulations would continue to pose a barrier to such an agreement. While acknowledging that the UK would be affected by a trade war among Western countries, Reynolds expressed hope that the UK would not be directly targeted by additional tariffs from Trump.