Trump warns US-UK trade deal ‘can always be changed’ with relations in ‘sad state’ | Foreign policy

Donald Trump has threatened to back away from the trade deal the US signed with Britain last year, in his latest salvo against the British government over sharp differences over the US approach to the Middle East.

The US president said the economic deal reached with Britain, which reduced some tariffs on cars, aluminum and steel, was “better than necessary” and could “always be changed”.

UK ministers have cited the agreement signed last May as an example of continued close ties with the US despite Trump’s increasingly harsh criticism of Keir Starmer and his government.

But they are angry about the economic impact on the UK and other countries of the US decision to go to war with Iran; This decision will potentially trigger a global recession that will affect the UK more than other G7 countries.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves said she was “disappointed and angry” that the US launched an attack without a clear idea of ​​its targets, while Starmer said last week he was “fed up” with Trump’s actions that have led to rising energy bills.

In a recent interview with a journalist on his personal mobile phone, Trump told Sky News that the so-called special relationship between the US and Britain was in a “sad state” and once again accused Britain of “not being there when we needed it” on the Iran conflict.

“Well, it’s been better, but it’s sad. And we got them a good trade deal, better than the one I had to make, that can always change,” he said. “A relationship where they weren’t there when we asked for help, when we needed them, and they weren’t there when we didn’t need them. They weren’t there and they still aren’t there.”

Starmer has increasingly sided with the EU, arguing that the economic and security benefits of a closer relationship with the bloc are “too great to ignore”, especially at a time of global turmoil and where the US is proving an unreliable partner.

In his interview, Trump suggested that a permanent ceasefire with Tehran could be reached before King Charles’s state visit to the United States in April. “They’re being beaten, it’s pretty bad. It’s very possible,” he said.

He repeated his previous criticisms of the UK’s energy and immigration policies – which were not always factually accurate – and defended himself for meddling in other countries’ domestic policies.

“I love Starmer but I think he made a tragic mistake in shutting down North Sea oil. You see your energy prices are the highest in the world,” he said. “And I think he made a tragic mistake on immigration. I love your country and I want it to succeed. But if you have bad immigration policies and bad energy policies, you have the worst of both. You can’t succeed, there’s no way.”

“A lot of people ask me what I think about them [the policies]And I think they’re crazy. They are destroying your country.”

Reeves, who is in Washington for International Monetary Fund meetings, is set to meet his US counterpart, US treasury secretary Scott Bessent, after he said the “some economic pain” caused by the Iran war was worth it to prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons.

The comments put him at odds with Reeves, who expressed frustration at the “stupidity” of U.S. actions in the Middle East and its financial consequences on families.

The crisis in the Gulf will leave its mark on the IMF’s spring meetings. He cut his forecast for Britain’s economic growth as a result of the conflict and warned that a worldwide recession could be around the corner.

But Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said Britain was in a much better position to deal with these headwinds because of the resilient banking system established after the 2007-09 financial crisis.