According to Washington and London, a US/UK trade deal is coming soon. It is bound to represent a massive loss of freedom for the UK. It's the last thing we need.
This is the audio version:
This is the transcript:
The UK does not need a trade deal with Trump. I cannot be more emphatic than that. I am scared rigid by the fact that Keir Starmer apparently thinks that a trade deal with the USA is the goal of his foreign policy at present. There are good reasons to think it should not be, even though JD Vance is dropping the hint that we might get one within three weeks.
Let's look at those good reasons.
The first is. Very simple and very straightforward. You don't get into bed with a fascist. It's a good rule for life, that one. I suggest you live by it because fascists are not nice people. And the Trump regime is made up of fascists.
Let's stop pretending anymore. These are people who will send a man to El Salvador wrongly and say they can do nothing about it, leaving him to rot in an El Salvadorian prison for life because they don't care.
These are the people who are threatening you.
These are the people who are threatening the rule of law in the USA.
These are the people who are upturning the world's trading systems to create chaos and cause havoc in so many countries around the world, from which the most vulnerable will suffer the most.
These are the people who are actually threatening democracy, but Starmer wants a deal with them. I reiterate my point, you don't get into bed with fascists.
But let's just move on from that point. Glaringly obvious as it is, if you are in a world where you have a choice as to who you do a trade to deal with - those who are destroying the system, or those who are trying to maintain the system, which has worked reasonably well, I don't say perfectly because that would be untrue, but reasonably well - who would you do that deal with?
Would you do it with the USA, who's a force of destruction? Or would you do that deal with Canada, Japan, South Korea or the states of the European Union, Australia, New Zealand, even India and Brazil, and others who participate in the world trading system at present, without so many of the impediments that Trump is creating.
You would, of course, choose your friends.
You would, of course, choose the Commonwealth countries.
You would, of course, go for order over chaos.
And yet Starmer is choosing chaos.
It makes absolutely no sense at all.
But nor will the details of this trade deal make sense. We haven't seen the details yet, but we've heard the mood music coming out of Washington, and that is unambiguous as to what it means.
Any trade deal with the US will not just be about trade. There will be massive conditions attached.
Conditions like the ending of abortion rights in the UK, or at least making them vastly more draconian.
The ending of the rights of human beings in the UK; the watering down of our Human Rights Act, and therefore the ending of the right to protect minorities inside this country to pacify the whims of the right-wing fanatics in Washington.
There will be measures to proactively harm the interests of people in this country if we are going to be able to sell Minis into the USA still. It's a trade-off that nobody should think about.
We don't also want US food in this country. US food is created in ways that are deeply dangerous to human wellbeing and health.
There is no way on earth that we should accept US beef in this country, or US chicken in this country, or genetically modified foods in this country. They are not acceptable, but they will be a condition of a trade deal.
We don't want US banking in this country. It's already having a pernicious and dangerous influence on policy in the UK. We are seeing US financial institutions take over the management of our pension funds. They take all the upside, they take all the fees, they leave us with all the risk. This is fleecing the UK. It's not a trade deal. It's simply about pillaging the wealth of this country for the benefit of US financial institutions.
And we don't want to maintain our links with the dollar for longer than we have to, either, because that is almost certainly going to be a requirement of this trade deal. We know now that one of the goals that Trump has is to maintain the power of the US dollar whilst reducing its value, which might require, perversely, that interest rates rise, meaning that he would export those high interest rates into the UK and with them inflation. But at the same time, he might demand that we reduce our control over Sterling to keep the dollar low in value.
We cannot give up control of our economy, again, to these right-wing fanatics in Washington.
We must not do a deal with the US. We need red lines. And one of those red lines is we don't deal with fascists.
Another must be that we have the right to say no.
We have the right to be decent.
We have the right to be empathic.
We have the right to human rights.
We will say no to the fact that Trump demands, we give up all these things.
This is not a time for compromise or deals.
This is a time to stand up and say, We say no.
Keir Starmer needs to do that on our behalf, to save the credibility of the Labour Party, to provide it with an electoral future. But more than that, to stand up for all the things that in 1939 we went to war about, and so many people died for.
We need to preserve Western democracy. Shallow as it can sometimes be, faulty as it often is, we need to keep it because of all the options for government we've ever tried; it may be bad, but it's still the best, and Starmer has a duty to say no to Trump as a consequence.
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Apparently, according to Labour MPs, all would be well, if only Starmer did things “more like Trump”.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/apr/19/labour-mps-urge-starmer-to-get-out-there-with-trump-style-media-strategy#img-1
Starmer does need to change, granted, but I find it profoundly depressing that Labour MPs apparently want him to model himself on Trump. Which ones? (Jess Phillips maybe?)
It does however, validate my theory that, having been brainwashed by McSweeney, all they can see is Trump’s electoral success. They are completely blind to his continual costly enormous “governance” failures and the great pain, suffering and misery they cause.
“Making the world a better place” really doesn’t seem to be in their glossary any more. Their horizon is limited to polls and elections (and getting rich, if they manage to grab the handrail of a passing gravy train and haul themselves aboard).
It’s “Tomb Saturday”, I mustn’t get too morbid…
The Labour party in Scotland have already started with the Trump style messaging on Facebook with Sarwar making all sorts of ridiculous claims about he’ll do when he “is First Minister” – try not to laugh.
The cult of Trump is not easily replicated. There will never be a cult of Starmer.
Absolutely.
But more pragmatically we should not strike a trade deal with the US of any sort because it would be one sided and meaningless.
Trump signed a trade deal with Canada and Mexico. But he ignored it because that suited him. Similarly if we had a trade deal with Trump it would impose conditions on us, but Trump would not honour any conditions on him.
There is no point in a trade deal with Trump. It would be meaningless.
Even when (I hope not “if”) Trump is out of office we can no longer rely on any international treaty with the US because they have shown they can elect a president who won’t honour it. That is, we cannot trust them.
A trade deal WILL require concessions on things that matter to most folk in the UK – Healthcare and food quality. It will make a trade deal with the EU much harder as a result…. a disaster.
I watched an interview with Mark Carney on Youtube with Professor G. Now, not always my “cup of tea” on many issues…. but at least he is standing up to Trump and has a plan.
FWIW, I’ve written to my MP – a Lib Dem – about this.
Thanks
So well explained, thank you.
US:UK It’s a ‘special abusive relationship’.
Absolutely terrifying! Who does a deal with a bunch of mafia sociopaths? Crazy!
They lie, they manipulate, they believe rules are for little people. they treat others as objects to serve their own needs and interests. They don’t have empathy, they really don’t care, and violence is normal.
Of course Starmer will do what he’s told: he was the security services choice, Labour died a long time ago, we’re left with Liarbour- it;s values are transactional.
Oh sure, let’s just go ahead and sign a trade deal with Trump. What could possibly go wrong? It’s not like his last stint in office was a four-year experiment in dismantling democracy one tweet at a time. And now, Keir Starmer — the man who keeps trying to cosplay as a grown-up in the room — wants to make a deal with the guy who thought injecting bleach might be a solid public health strategy.
Honestly, it’s hard to know whether to laugh or cry.
Because this isn’t just about economics — it’s about values. You don’t shake hands with a government that treats human rights like an optional extra and international law like a mild suggestion. You don’t sell out your public services, your food standards, your legal protections — just to stand next to someone famous at a press conference. This isn’t a high school prom. It’s national policy.
Let’s talk about food, shall we? Yes, that food — the hormone-fed beef, the chlorine-washed chicken, the industrial-scale agriculture that’s so far removed from anything we’d recognise as safe or ethical it should come with its own sci-fi warning label. Is that really the legacy of Brexit? “We left the EU so we could import radioactive nuggets from Iowa.” Great.
And let’s not pretend this is about trade in the abstract. It’s not. It’s about power – Kier. A deal with a second Trump administration wouldn’t be a negotiation — it would be a list of demands. Deregulate your markets. Roll back your human rights protections. Open the door to US financial firms and let them treat your pension system like a blackjack table. Say goodbye to climate standards, and hello to whatever Big Oil and Big Ag want next.
And all the while, there are actual allies — you know, the kind who don’t stage coups or threaten their own judiciary — queuing up to work with us. Canada. Japan. The EU. Australia. Democracies with functioning legal systems and zero interest in forcing our government to defund the welfare state in exchange for a box of cornflakes.
But apparently, we’re too distracted by the idea of a quick deal with a loud man in a red tie to notice.
I’m not saying Britain is perfect. Far from it. But surely, surely we can aim higher than handing over our sovereignty, dignity, and food safety in exchange for a few dodgy investment deals and a compliment about our “big, beautiful” fish and chips.
Starmer has a choice. He can stand for decency — for fairness, for rights, for protecting what actually matters to people in this country. Or he can chase a photo op with a man whose main contribution to international relations was almost starting a war over Twitter.
Me? I’ll be over here clinging to my human rights, my non-chlorinated vegetables, and the desperate hope that someone in Westminster still remembers what the word integrity means.
If the Rest of the World was a little more coordinated, all countries would have turned down trade with the USA, and stood up to the bullying.
The UK govt having a trade deal with the US is pretty stupid and dangerous but it is just one of the inane policies pursued by this government. It has no credibility and lacks the ability to run anything. Labour is also laying the ground open for Reform to get votes even though Reform is not a credible or desirable alternative. I despair!
Surely any English Government would recognise they were being fleeced? After all, they have been doing it to Scotland, and others, for years.
True
According to the ONS’s latest figures, for 2023, https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/nationalaccounts/balanceofpayments/articles/uktradewiththeunitedstates2023/2023
In 2023, the UK imported £57.9 billion of goods from the United States (10.0% of all goods imports) and exported £60.4 billion of goods (15.3% of all goods exports).
In 2023, the UK imported £57.4 billion of services from the United States (19.5% of all services imports) and exported £126.3 billion of services (27.0% of all services exports).
So imports of £120 billion and exports of £180 billion are important but not overwhelming. UK GDP in 2023 was about £2,500 billion. Total trade was about £1.7 billion.
The US is the UK’s single largest trading partner country, but it is only 10%. The EU was more than a third.
Thanks
Couple of typos to correct.
Total trade was about £1.7 trillion – £1,700 billion.
And the US is 10 to 20%. But even that is much less than the EU.
I fear the damage was done years ago. US financial and corporate interests have already wormed their way into the government and establishment of the UK. Involvement in Free Ports and SEZs, for example, exclude rejoining the EU. Bridges have been burned and the UK has been sold out by stupid, greedy, politicians.
The only adjective I would disagree with Richard is stupid. I believe they know exactly what they are doing, and that is lining their own, and in some cases, their families pockets. And ensuring their own futures. Directorships/Consultances with private companies whose businesses they have advanced while in politics.
I was being polite Alex. What I really meant was corrupt.
Association with our politicians reflects badly on the stupid and greedy. Can’t we give them a break?
I suspect that whatever is agreed will be announced as a narrow, “mini-deal” and there’s nothing to worry about. But there will be devils in the detail. Goodbye digital services tax, parts of the on-line safety act, AI safeguards? Hallo liberalised financial services, some regulatory convergence, open door for tendering for our essential infrastructure contracts? And I fear there will be a timetable for future “side deals” which will push the boundaries further, but without any media attention.
Can we start a government petition perhaps at least to show the public are largely opposed to this idea. Alas, given the fate of the Trump state visit one, it might not even go through but it might be worth a shot and we can leave names of individuals out of it at the very least.
Please do and share here.
I want to start a petition – will you sign it?
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/725588/sponsors/new?token=AspyycE31ZLdwuuE82qT
Reject any trade deal offered by the United States of America
We urge the government to resist any offers put forward by the US administration for a free trade agreement between the US and the UK.
We believe that a potential trade deal with the USA is likely to be highly unfavourable to the UK. A deal threatens us with the prospect of chlorinated chicken appearing on shop shelves, posing risks to our health and also the livelihoods of UK farmers. The NHS may also by at risk from US pharmaceutical companies. One concession for such a deal may be to offer tax breaks to big American tech companies which would be wrong at time we are already imposing further austerity on the disabled.
Done
I was hoping Starmer was going through the motions of getting a US deal – while simultaneously doing one with the EU .
As Richard and everyone here suggests any deal other than a quasi one will be inimical to UK.
Any UK govt would always say they are not choosing – but have deals with both.
Cant see any UK govt try to get out from under US hegemony, least of all closing military bases, extracting from their intelligence clutches etc etc. – .
Dystopia
An appropriate comment for the 250th anniversary of the battle of Lexington and Concord.
What I find fairly alarming is the report in the Guardian in Wednesday (https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/apr/16/uk-officials-trade-documents-secret-trump-tariff-security) about the secrecy surrounding the deal.
Is this really to prevent the US from finding out about our negotiating position, or to hide from the uk public and independent uk media what Starmer is preparing to give away to get a deal.
Frankly, I imagine the US has a pretty god idea of what positions we could and could not adopt and I imagine their negotiators will war-game them all.
Not sure that keeping information out of the UK public’s knowledge doesn’t seem a more compelling argument, given e.g. the direction of Streeting’s ham-handed tinkering with the NHS and Starmer’s assurances about the NHS and other potential giveaways should probably regarded with some scepticism given his empirically observable tendency to renege on electoral commitments and change his mind when it suits him.
Although I agree with everything you’ve said in your post, there is another key point I think you have missed.
Trump routinely doesn’t honour deals he makes. That’s both in business and in government.
In his mind, all deals have a “winner” and a “loser”. He has never believed that a deal can be a “win win” for both parties. If the other party comes away from a deal happy with the deal, then something is wrong because that means Trump must have got the raw end of the deal. He must have “lost”.
The USA had the NAFTA agreement with the USA going into Trump’s first term. He decided he didn’t like it (probably because he didn’t negotiate it!), so scrapped it and demanded Mexico and Canada renegotiate which they did. In the end, all three parties agreed to the deal and he signed off on it.
So what is one of the first things he did in Trump 2.0? Tear up the agreement that he negoitated in his first term? Why, because both Canada and the Mexico were doing well with the agreement and that had to mean that the agreeement was unfair to the USA. It wasn’t but never let the facts stand in the way of Donald Trump.
So if Starmer comes back from Washington waiving a piece of paper claiming we have a deal, he’s going to end up looking a lot like Neville Chamberlain pre WW2 (“peace for our time”!) as the deal will never stand because Trump will unilaterally change the terms or just ignore it.
His only course of action is to publically go through the motions of negotiating a deal with the USA but knowing full well it would be a disaster, while privately getting on the phone to the EU, China, Japan, India, South Korea etc etc etc and forming one massive free trade bloc that excludes America. That’s the only way forward with Trump in the White House.
As you said, he has no business dealing with fascists but he certainly has no business dealing with fascists who are liars and won’t respect any terms they agree to.
He’d be a fool to trust Trump and yet that seems to be what he is intent on doing.
IMHO, Sir Keir Starmer is just another brand of suppository, he’s so far up the Mango Madman’s bum. We all know what he should do (starting with growing a spine) but I fear he won’t do any of them. Instead, he’ll grovel to Trump. In that sense, Starmer is a typical product of the class system; he grovels to those he thinks his ‘betters’ but shows contempt for those ‘beneath him’.
Romen Chilmon, thank you for your petition link. I’ve signed. Good luck!
Trade deal or not, we need those 25% trade tariffs removed. If it takes a deal to do it, so be it. Trump won’t be President of the USA forever, in fact he has less than 4 years left.
Are you really as naive as your comment suggests?
@ Ian
Trump’s signature on a trade deal is worth precisely what?
A deal agreed with him, will last how long exactly?
You know what he and his fascist colleagues will do tomorrow? Because they don’t.
Trump reminds me of Pharoah promising after the worst of the plagues, that he would let Israel go. Then changing his mind, plague after plague, and saying, “NO!” all the way to the seashore.
What UK business would borrow millions to invest in plant and labour and materials, because an unpredictable erratic dishonest deceitful bigly fascist signed a trade deal with Rachel Reeves?
Would YOU?
Starmer will eventually discover what Trump’s deals and promises are worth. Let’s hope he doesn’t take us down with him.