UK’s Reeves meets with the U.S’s Bessent to discuss bilateral trade

British Finance Minister Rachel Reeves met U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on April 25 to discuss what she called a “prosperity deal.” However, the Chancellor stressed that UK-EU ties are more important than the UK-U.S. trade relationship.

UK’s Reeves met U.S.’s Bessent on April 25 to discuss a prosperity trade deal, shortly after Reeves said that improving business ties with the European Union was more important. Reeves said a day before she was due to discuss the trade deal with her U.S. counterpart, that she shared some of U.S. President Donald Trump’s concerns about imbalances in the world economy. However, she also noted that the trade tariffs launched earlier this month by Trump and followed up by China benefited no one.

Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director at the IMF, said that Reeves is dealing with very tough issues, reprioritizing spending, getting the regulatory environment to be more rational, and then taking on the battle to get it done, “And it’s really impressive.” However, Georgieva warmly welcomed the cooperation between the UK and the EU on Thursday, describing both sides as “divorcees” that are “now dating.”

Reeves discusses ‘prosperity deal’ with Bessent in ‘upbeat and positive’ talks

Chancellor Reeves discussed what she called a “prosperity deal” with the U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent in a meeting her team described as “upbeat and positive.” The U.S. has made fresh demands in recent days, including calling for tariffs on car imports to the UK to be cut.

The U.S. Treasury stated in a readout that Bessent acknowledged the need for fair and reciprocal trade and that the two also held positive discussions on taxation, financial innovation, and technology partnerships. However, Reeves said on Wednesday that Britain would not rush to secure a deal with Washington and ruled out making concessions on food standards.

“Today, I met with Secretary Scott Bessent to discuss the UK-U.S. economic prosperity deal and our goal of reaching an agreement that is in both our national interests.”

–Rachel Reeves, Britain’s Finance Minister 

Reeves pointed out that the UK-U.S. relationship had delivered prosperity for businesses and working people on both sides of the Atlantic. Notably, although the UK has been negotiating hard to secure exemptions from some of Trump’s harshest tariffs, including the 25% levy on car imports, Reeves left Washington without being able to claim any tangible progress.

Reeves claims that UK-EU trade is more important than U.S.

Before meeting Bessent, Chancellor Reeves suggested that the UK’s trading relationship with the EU was arguably even more important than that with the United States. She said that she understood why there was so much focus on the UK-U.S. trading relationship. Still, she noted that the Eurozone trading relationship was more important because European countries are considered the UK’s close neighbors and trading partners.

British and European officials recently disclosed that they are aiming for a defense agreement at a planned summit in May. This could also kick off negotiations for closer cooperation in other areas like energy, fish, food standards, and opportunities for young people.

Reeves met German Finance Minister Joerg Kukies earlier on Friday in Washington to prepare for a gathering of European leaders to seek to improve ties between Britain and the bloc, strained by the 2016 Brexit vote. At the same time, Reeves and UK’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer hoped to remove some post-Brexit trade barriers with the EU. Although the U.S. was Britain’s biggest trading partner, the EU bloc bought more of the country’s exports.

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