Britain will not lower its standards or water down regulation in exchange for a trade deal with the US, the chancellor has confirmed.
Rachel Reeves was speaking ahead of a pivotal meeting with her American counterpart in Washington DC.
In an interview with Sky News, Ms Reeves said she was “confident” that a deal would be reached but said she had red lines on food and car standards, adding that changes to online safety were “non-negotiable for the British government”.
The comments mark the firmest commitment to a slew of rules and regulations that have long been a gripe for the Americans.
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The US administration is pushing for the UK to relax rules on agricultural exports, including hormone-treated beef.
While Britain could lower tariffs on some agricultural products that meet regulations, ministers have been clear that it will not lower its standards.
However, the government has been less firm with its stance on online safety.
A tech red line
The US tech industry has fiercely opposed Britain’s Online Safety Act, which was introduced in 2023 and requires tech companies to shield children from harmful content online.
In an earlier draft UK-US trade deal, the British government was considering a review of the bill in the hope of swerving US tariffs.
However, the chancellor suggested that this was no longer on the table.
“On food standards, we’ve always been really clear that we’re not going to be watering down standards in the UK and similarly, we’ve just passed the Online Safety Act and the safety, particularly of our children, is non-negotiable for the British government,” she said.
She added that Britain was “not going to water down areas of road safety”, a move that could pave the way for American SUVs that have been engineered to protect passengers but not pedestrians.
While non-tariff barriers will remain intact, it was reported on Tuesday night that the UK could lower its automotive tariff from 10% to 2.5%.
The calculations behind Reeves’s red lines
What can Britain offer the Americans if it’s not prepared to lower its standards?
Donald Trump has previously described non-tariff barriers that block US exporters as “cheating”.
Britain does have some scope to bring down tariff rates – and Rachel Reeves suggested that this was her focus – but ours is already a highly open economy, we don’t have huge scope to cut tariff rates.
The real prize for the Americans is in the realm of these non-tariff barriers.
There has been much speculation about what the UK could offer up, but the chancellor on Wednesday gave a comprehensive commitment that she would not dilute standards.
There are many who will breathe a collective sigh of relief – from UK farmers to road safety campaigners and parents of young children.
While the government is sensitive to any potential public backlash, it also has another factor to think about.
When Ms Reeves arrives back home, she will begin preparations for a UK-EU summit in London next month.
The UK’s food and road safety standards are, in many areas, in sync with Europe, and Britain is seeking even deeper integration.
Lowering standards for the Americans would make that deeper alignment with the Europeans impossible.
The chancellor has to decide which market is more valuable to Britain.
The answer is Europe.
Back at home, the chancellor suggested that she was still open to relaxing rules on the City of London, even though global financial markets have endured a period of turmoil, triggered by President Trump’s trade war.
Reforms at home?
In her Mansion House speech last November, the chancellor said post-2008 reforms had “gone too far” and set the course for deregulating the City.
Asked if that was a wise move in light of the recent sharp swings in the financial markets, Ms Reeves said: “I want regulators to regulate not just for risk but also for growth.
“We are making reforms and we have set out new remit letters to our financial services regulators.”
Britain’s borrowing costs hit their highest level in almost 30 years after Mr Trump’s Liberation Day tariffs announcements, a stark reminder that policy decisions in the US have the power to raise UK bond yields and in turn, affect the chancellor’s budget, dent her already small fiscal headroom and derail her plans for tax and spend.
However, the chancellor said she would not consider adapting her fiscal rules, which include a promise to cover day-to-day spending with tax receipts, even if it gives her more room to manoeuvre in the face of volatility.
“Fiscal rules are non-negotiable for a simple reason, that Britain must offer under this government fiscal and financial stability, which is so important in a world of global uncertainty,” she said.
