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The connections between the UK and the US are deeply personal for so many Brits. As a teenager, I spent long summers in New York with family. I went to study at Harvard as a young man. After graduating I practised as a lawyer in San Francisco.
The world has changed a lot since then. The 2008 global financial crisis marked the end of the era of hyper-globalisation. The coronavirus pandemic exposed the danger of unreliable supply chains.
Putin's illegal invasion of Ukraine was not only an attack on the Ukrainian people, but also the international order established in the wake of the Second World War, which imposed an energy price shock on every home in Britain.
This government believes that we must answer this fragmentation with new and deeper alliances. We can increase our domestic security and resilience through more cooperation, not by pulling away from the world.
That is why those who argue we must make a choice between the US and the EU are so fundamentally wrong. Over the course of one month, we are seeking or finalising deals with all of the United States, India and the EU, spanning practically every sector of our economy.
Before we came into office, we focussed our diplomacy in the US on both sides of the aisle because we recognise that the US is our most indispensable ally. Since President Trump was elected, I am delighted that under Keir's leadership we have given that alliance even greater depth.
The announcement on a trade deal between our countries is a testament to the hard work of both governments. Together, we have quickly struck a groundbreaking deal – the first such agreement made by this US administration. It will give more certainty to businesses and customers on both sides of the Atlantic and secure our shared economic prosperity.
The deal includes some immediate actions that have been welcomed by businesses across the Atlantic. Slashing steel and aluminium tariffs slashed to zero. Significantly reducing the 27.5% tariffs imposed on the UK car industry. British workers at firms like JLR in the Midlands or British Steel in Scunthorpe will keep their jobs.
We have secured explicit guarantees for our high food standards, while increasing market access to the US for British farmers. But this deal is also a basis for further negotiations on better trading terms. We will be working with the US to further reduce tariffs and non-tariff barriers. And we will be discussing an ambitious set of digital trade provisions and a transformative tech partnership.
One of the drivers of changes in the global economic order is rapid technological change. Malign actors like Russia know that gaining an edge on technology can mean gaining an edge geopolitically. That’s why it is so important that two such close allies like the UK and US redouble our efforts to keep pace.
As the Prime Minister has said, it is fitting that we announced such an agreement on VE Day. Both our countries are proud of our role in the battle for Europe’s freedom and democracy. But today’s agreement reflects an equal determination to strengthen our friendship today, making it fit for the world of the twenty-first century.
This newly dangerous world calls for agile diplomacy, focused first and foremost on doing deals with our closest partners in the national interest.
This week, we are seeing such an approach bearing fruit. The last government spent years talking up trade deals with India and the US. We've completed them both in less than a year. And they are just the beginning. Our diplomats and trade negotiators have sent a signal – we are ready to do business.
English (US) ·