Tariffs and relations with China could be first questions to arise over Trump

Tariffs and relationships with China could be among the first issues up for discussion when Donald Trump re-enters the White House, according to the director of the Chatham House foreign affairs think tank.

Bronwen Maddox said she believes the US administration has “become the big question for UK foreign policy”, and the UK will be faced with having to “make some decisions” about its positions on certain issues.

She also said Lord Peter Mandelson, Britain’s incoming ambassador to the US, will be “helpful” and a “plus to the Government”.

President-elect Trump will be sworn in for his second term in the White House on Monday, four years after he lost the 2020 election to President Joe Biden.

There have been concerns about the potential impact of Mr Trump’s pledged tariffs on US imports on economies around the world, as well as questions about what his return to Washington could mean in other areas such as support for Ukraine.

Earlier this week, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer told the Financial Times that “tariffs aren’t in anybody’s interests” and that the UK ambition “is to have a deal of some sorts with the US, a trade deal. That’s where our focus is”.

The incoming Trump administration has “become the big question for UK foreign policy”, Ms Maddox told the PA news agency.

She said: “Trump is going to ask things that amount to ‘are you with us or against us’ and UK is going to have to make some decisions.”

“The hardest one is going to be China and the Chancellor Rachel Reeves may find that her trip and the professions of support for engagement with China she gave was premature,” she added, if there are requests from the US in relation to China.

“The UK will have a choice on that, but it is going to be hard for it to make a choice in favour of China against the US, at any point I think.”

Asked which discussions she thought could arise first, she said “tariffs and China”.

It was confirmed in December that former Labour minister Lord Mandelson will become the UK’s new ambassador to the US, however, some of his past criticism of the incoming president provoked concern about what he could mean for the transatlantic relationship.

Ms Maddox said his role in Washington will be “helpful” despite the criticism, and he is “very experienced” on trade.

“I think he’s very worldly and very experienced in how to find a middle ground where one may not be apparent,” she said.

“Very experienced on trade, he wasn’t always but he put a lot of effort into mastering the trade brief when he became trade commissioner and I think is really very surefooted on the small differences between countries on these and how to play for agreement again where it’s elusive.”

A number of UK figures will be in Washington ahead of Monday’s ceremonies. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has confirmed that he will be attending the inauguration.

Speaking to The Sun on Sunday, Mr Farage described some members of Mr Trump’s incoming cabinet as “genuine friends on speed dial” and reiterated his offer to work with the Labour government when it comes to the new US administration.

He told the paper that if he were able to help “behind the scenes” he would “because it is in the national interest”.

Former prime minister Liz Truss posted on X on Friday to say that she was in Washington, DC.

The outgoing UK ambassador to the US Dame Karen Pierce is also expected at the ceremony.

Shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel also shared on social media on Saturday that she would be “representing the Conservative Party” at the inauguration.

Former UK ambassador to the US Lord Kim Darroch – who served during Mr Trump’s first term – has said that the UK will have to “prioritise” in its dealings with Mr Trump, and pointed to tariffs as being near the top of the list.

Lord Darroch left the role in 2019 after his messages criticising the administration were leaked to the press.

Writing in The Guardian, Lord Darroch said the Prime Minister should “press Trump directly on why he discounts the view of many eminent US economists that, while tariffs would damage everyone, America would suffer the most”.

Meanwhile, mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan warned against “reactionary populists”, writing in The Observer that “these are deeply worrying times, especially if you’re a member of a minority community”.

Pointing to the AfD in Germany, National Rally in France and Mr Trump in the US, he called for a “renewed and concerted effort to confront these forces and expose them for what they are: opportunists who seek to divide people for personal and political gain”.

Published: 19/01/2025 by Radio NewsHub