Britain must not trade political freedoms in any deal with US, Vince Cable warns

The Chancellor will hold her first face-to-face meeting with American counterpart Scott Bessant for talks on an economic deal between the US and UK when she arives in Washington for the International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s spring meetings.

Ms Reeves has pledged to “defend Britain’s interests” during these talks and Mr Cable stressed that the British delegate should be "looking at the bigger picture".

Speaking to LBC News' Steve Holden, the former Business Secretary said: "What Britain wants essentially is for the Americans to remove these very high tariffs on cars and pharmaceuticals, the 10% cross the board tariff that the Americans have imposed.

"The question is, what are they going to ask for in return? It may well be that what they ask for is not tolerable. I mean, if they make very political demands. There have been some rumours that they want to try and influence the way we do politics, run universities and so on, and that's clearly out of the question."

Securing a trade deal became even more important earlier this month when US President Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs on imports from the rest of the world.

These included 10% levies on all UK goods – then the lowest level imposed on any country – along with 25% tariffs on steel and cars.

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While ministers have said talks on a deal remain ongoing, figures in the Trump administration have cast doubt on their prospect of success.

Although Mr Trump rowed back from his initial announcement, instead instituting 10% tariffs on all countries except China, his senior economic adviser Kevin Hassett has suggested this is a “baseline” which would require an “extraordinary deal” for the president to go below.

Mr Trump himself has said he is in “no rush” to negotiate exceptions to the tariff regime due to the revenues he claimed the charges were generating.

Ahead of her visit to Washington, Ms Reeves said: “The world has changed and we are in a new era of global trade. I am in no doubt that the imposition of tariffs will have a profound impact on the global economy and the economy at home.

“This changing world is unsettling for families who are worried about the cost of living and businesses concerned about what tariffs will means for them. But our task as a government is not to be knocked off course or to take rash action which risks undermining people’s security."

She said we must "rise" to the moment and said: "I will always act to defend British interests as part of our plan for change."

The Chancellor added: “We need a world economy that provides stability and fairness for businesses wanting to invest, and trade, more trade and global partnerships between nations with shared interests, and security for working people who want to get on with their lives.”

As well as seeking to make progress on a US deal, Ms Reeves is also expected to discuss improving trading relations with other nations – something she has previously said the government is keen to do.

Earlier in April, she hosted India’s finance minister for talks on a potential free trade agreement and trade is expected to feature heavily at a UK-EU summit in May.