Oral Answers to Questions

Blake Stephenson Excerpts

Thursday 1st May 2025 Commons Chamber

[Gareth Thomas]

We recognise that the English wine industry, which has gone from strength to strength in recent years, is a crucial part of the rural economy and of the food and drink offer that the UK can rightly be proud of. It is one reason that we are seeking to increase exports of food and drink, including helping English vineyards to export English wine to a range of markets overseas, and we will certainly continue to do that.

[Blake Stephenson (Mid Bedfordshire) (Con)]

12. What recent discussions he has had with his US counterpart on tariffs.

[The Secretary of State for Business and Trade (Jonathan Reynolds)]

As we have heard, the US is our largest single country trading partner, with total trade worth £315 billion in 2024, representing 18% of total UK trade. More than a million Americans work for UK-owned businesses and vice versa. We have regular and ongoing constructive negotiations with our US counterparts, including some this week, on securing a wider economic deal to benefit UK businesses and our economy. In those talks, we continually push the case for free and open trade. Nobody wants to see a trade war, so our focus is on keeping calm and continuing to negotiate in the interest of UK businesses and consumers.

[Blake Stephenson]

As the UK’s top export country, the US is a vital partner to many UK businesses, but with Trump now reported to have made the UK a second-order priority to Asia and with the UK possibly on the verge of giving up its Brexit freedoms in favour of EU alignment, how confident is the Secretary of State of achieving a comprehensive free trade deal with the US, in both goods and services?

[Jonathan Reynolds]

First, let me assuage the hon. Gentleman’s concerns: that is a misreading of how the US is approaching these negotiations. The US has perhaps more complex issues with some countries that will take more bandwidth on its side. As I have always said, the existing relationship between the UK and the US is incredibly strong, reciprocal and mutually beneficial. I see far fewer issues to negotiate to get to that outcome.

Again, I would push back on anyone attempting to put the case that the decisions we make must be based on either the EU, the US or any other partner being our principal partner. The role for the UK is to position ourselves in this challenging world with a genuine strategic advantage because we do things that improve our trading relationship with the EU; we secure this US deal; and we secure the deals with India, the Gulf and other key markets. I am pragmatic about where the UK’s national interest lies and am absolutely confident that it is possible and desirable.