Senior member of the British ruling Labour Party has urged the government to take more concrete actions in dealing with issues related to the Chinese Communist Party in order to address the Trump administration’s concerns about economic security. By making such commitments, the UK hopes to reach an agreement with the United States to avoid tariffs on British goods.
According to a report by the Financial Times on Thursday (November 14), Liam Byrne, the influential chairman of the cross-party Business and Trade Committee in the UK House of Commons and former Labour Cabinet Minister, said in an interview that Britain should negotiate with the US on economic security issues in exchange for President Trump’s tariff exemptions for the UK upon his return to the White House.
Byrne emphasized that the UK should strengthen investment security and export controls to align with American standards. He added, “China’s involvement in research collaborations with British universities has raised concerns in Washington, fearing that Beijing may obtain British intellectual property with potential military applications.”
He stated that if there’s one thing President Trump cares more about than tariffs, it’s China. The UK government should propose tightening its foreign investment screening program and introducing stricter export control regulations to seek tariff exemptions.
During his campaign, Trump promised to impose universal tariffs ranging from 10% to 20% on US imports. Byrne believes this would be a “disastrous doomsday scenario” for the UK economy, so action should be taken promptly to avoid such a situation.
Duncan Edwards, CEO of BritishAmerican Business, stated that some may view Trump’s imposition of tariffs as a negotiation strategy, but he believes it’s more than just a strategy. He thinks the incoming Trump administration is serious about imposing comprehensive tariffs.
Edwards pointed out that while the UK is not Trump’s primary tariff target, failure to actively seek exemptions could still result in British companies being affected. He believes that the UK currently has an opportunity to negotiate for exemptions to avoid the impact of universal tariffs.
Former UK Department for International Trade official and current consultant at SEC Newgate, Allie Renison, stated that reaching an agreement with Trump is possible, but the UK needs to make substantive commitments rather than just expressing intentions on the CCP issue.
The National Institute of Economic and Social Research in the UK warned that Trump’s proposed protectionist measures could halve the country’s economic growth and lead to higher inflation and interest rates.
However, other economists argue that the UK may be less susceptible to tariff impacts compared to countries with trade surpluses with the US. They point out that the EU is a larger destination for British goods and services exports than the US.