The chancellor Rachel Reeves will use a keynote speech this week to promote free and open trade between nations as a cornerstone of UK economic policy, putting the Labour government on direct collision course with president-elect Donald Trump.
Reeves will use her first speech at the Mansion House – an annual showpiece for the chancellor – to outline a post-budget plan to “go for growth”. But as the UK government scrambles to respond to Trump’s emphatic victory, and the challenges it poses for Britain on vital issues of economic and foreign policy, the chancellor is expected to be clear that she will take the fight to Washington in defence of free trade.
The issue is fast emerging as a major test for relations between the incoming Trump presidency and London, along with their widely differing approaches over continuing support for Ukraine’s war with Russia. On Friday Trump – who has promised to slap high tariffs on all imports into the US – wasted no time in asking the arch-protectionist Robert Lighthizer to return as US trade representative when he takes over at the White House again in January.
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