Chancellor Rachel Reeves welcomes US trade deal - but wants closer ties with EU too
8 May 2025, 14:43
Chancellor Rachel Reeves said she wanted to see trade barriers between the UK and the rest of the word fall ahead of an expected announcement on a deal with the US.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
She told reporters the announcement followed a deal with India and came ahead of the UK-EU summit later this month which is also expected to focus on smoothing trade.
Ms Reeves said: “We want to see trade barriers between the UK and countries around the world fall.”
Read More: Donald Trump announces US-UK trade deal calling 'full and comprehensive' agreement a 'great honour'
Asked whether the relationship with the European Union was more important than the US, Rachel Reeves said: “We shouldn’t choose between countries.
“The UK is an open trading economy, open for trade, open for business, open for investment.”She said reducing trade barriers would be “good for living standards, good for businesses and jobs here in Britain”.
The Chancellor told reporters: “There’s an incredibly strong trade and investment link between the UK and the US.
“A million Brits work for American firms and a million Americans work for British firms.
“I was out in the States just a couple of weeks ago meeting the administration and the Prime Minister will have more to say about the future trading relationship between the UK and the US later today.
