US trade talks: Rachel Reeves insists UK won’t be ‘relaxing’ food standards – City AM

Wednesday 23 April 2025 6:07 pm

Rachel Reeves has insisted the UK gained’t be “stress-free” its meals requirements in a bid to safe a commerce take care of the US.

The Chancellor, who’s in Washington DC for the Worldwide Financial Fund (IMF) spring conferences, spoke forward of her anticipated talks with US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent.

Requested whether or not the UK authorities must select between permitting US meals requirements within the UK, or aligning extra carefully with the EU, Reeves instructed the BBC: “We’ve been actually clear because the starting of our discussions with our US counterparts, that we’re not going to be lowering agricultural requirements within the UK, and the US administration respect and perceive that. 

“We’ve got excessive requirements to help British farming and help British shoppers, and we’re not going to be stress-free these requirements.”

Reeves additionally admitted that the “world has modified” and careworn that the UK was “searching for a deal in our nation’s nationwide curiosity to higher defend and promote jobs and funding into the UK”. 

Requested whether or not she was referring to US President Donald Trump’s sweeping new world commerce tariffs, Reeves stated: “I imagine in free commerce. I feel that’s good for international locations around the globe, however it’s additionally bought to be truthful commerce. 

“I do perceive the issues that america has about international locations around the globe that run giant and chronic commerce surpluses with the US. 

“The UK is just not a kind of international locations, which is why I do imagine that there’s a deal there to be carried out between the UK and the US, to advertise commerce, to scale back commerce boundaries, to higher help jobs and funding, each within the UK and within the US.”

She highlighted that the federal government has “introduced a evaluate on low worth imports coming into the UK, undercutting the British excessive road and British retailers”. 

And pressed on whether or not the UK was being “handled extra harshly by President Trump than nearly anyone else, aside from China”, the Chancellor careworn: “I wouldn’t acknowledge the way in which you’ve portrayed that. The headline tariff on the UK after the 90 days pause is, in fact, decrease than many international locations around the globe. 

“However am I pleased with that consequence? After all not, which is why we’re in in depth discussions in the intervening time with the US about securing an financial settlement, an settlement to scale back these tariff and non-tariff boundaries between our international locations.

“But additionally to construct on the profitable protection and nationwide safety partnership between our international locations and switch that into a brand new know-how partnership to help a few of the quickest rising sectors of the economic system, and to construct on the scientific enterprise that we see each within the UK and US, the place I feel there’s scope for actually enhancing and constructing on these relationships, to get these jobs, and produce that funding to Britain.”