Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is being urged to maximise pressure on the US to secure relief from tariffs ahead of Donald Trump’s state visit.
The US president’s two-day trip will officially begin on Wednesday and includes an overnight stay at Windsor Castle.
This will be Mr Trump’s second state visit, an unprecedented gesture for a US president, and will mark the first time he has met with King Charles since he became monarch.
Ahead of his arrival, the Commons Business and Trade Committee said this is the moment to put pressure on Mr Trump to agree to the final terms of a so-called economic prosperity deal.
The UK and US signed a trade deal in June that reduced tariffs on car and aerospace imports to the US, but failed to agree on terms for British steel, leaving tariffs on it at 25%.
The sticking points are thought to include US concerns over steel products made elsewhere in the world, then finished in the UK.
In a report published on Sunday, the committee welcomed the government securing swift tariff relief for key sectors.
“It is however now vital that government maximises pressure on the United States, beginning and following the president’s state visit, to agree final terms for a lasting economic prosperity deal to end the threat of future sectoral tariffs, maximise predictability and that where the UK has secured terms which are second best to the EU, we aim to improve them,” they added.
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A vanity trip or a powerful card to play?
Newly appointed business and trade secretary Peter Kyle said on Sunday that a tariff relief for UK steel is currently being negotiated as he vowed to make an announcement “as soon as possible”.
The committee is also urging the government to seal a deal on aluminium and pharmaceuticals and for any final agreement to reflect the realities of the UK’s supply chains and transition to low-carbon production.
It said the UK should leverage the US partnership to gain an edge over China in artificial intelligence and defence technology, de-risked supply chains and greater security for critical minerals supplies.
MP Peter Kyle on Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips
Appearing on Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips, MP Mr Kyle cited his visit to Washington last week.
He said: “We are having very detailed conversations on a whole range of issues, the fruits of which are partly going to be announced in the coming weeks.”
It comes as the UK government earlier revealed that more than £1.25bn in private US investment will be infused into the UK’s financial services sector.
The investment, along with other capital commitments, secures £20bn in trade between the two nations – with £8bn to come to the UK and £12bn to go to the US.
Mr Kyle said: “That means a thousand jobs in Belfast, hundreds of jobs in Edinburgh and Manchester. These are new deals.”
He added: “So, the relationship we have with America is actually benefiting workers rights around the country.”
Read more:
What we know about Trump’s state visit
A vanity trip or a powerful card to play?
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What happened during Donald Trump’s visit to Scotland?
Mr Trump’s state visit comes less than two months after his private holiday to Scotland, where he visited his golf courses in South Ayrshire and Aberdeenshire and met with the prime minister and First Minister John Swinney.
The president’s arrival on Tuesday evening is expected to spark mass protests by the Stop Trump Coalition in Windsor and London, and security will be heightened during his stay.
The Prince and Princess of Wales will meet Mr Trump and first lady Melania on Wednesday morning in the Windsor estate grounds before accompanying the couple to meet the King and Queen for an open-air greeting.
Ahead of the highly anticipated visit, specialist search unit officers were spotted scouring bollards, bins and drains outside the royal residence on Friday, with a sniffer dog on patrol.
Thames Valley Police officers carrying out security searches in Windsor ahead of Mr Trump’s state visit. Pic: PA
Pic: PA
Lord Kim Darroch told Sky News: “Trump does revere, is fascinated by, the Royal Family.
“He himself tells the story of sitting with his Scottish mother watching the coronation of Queen Elizabeth [in 1953].
“When he came over for the first state visit in 2019, which I was involved in, he brought his whole family, which is like saying to them, ‘look, look, I’ve made it to a state visit to the UK, I’ve made it to Buckingham Palace’.
“So, he will absolutely love the fact that he’s, I think, the only American president to have had a second state visit.
“He enjoys all the pageantry and he will revel, I think, in every moment of it.”
