Reeves is right to prioritise Europe over Trump Trump on trade

Given the geopolitical context, Rachel Reeves’s suggestion that rebuilding Britain’s relationship with the European Union is more important than winning a trade deal with the United States has proved a controversial one.

- SEAN O'GRADY

Since Donald Trump returned to the White House and unleashed fire and fury on America’s traditional allies, the UK, like many of America’s loyal friends, sometimes feels as if it is being forced to choose where its best interests lie on defence, security and economics, while in the past such questions had been settled decades ago. The Atlantic alliance was the reliable foundation for everything, and America, Europe and other powers were crucial economic partners.

Even after Brexit, which did alter realities, the UK still sought to be a transatlantic bridge; and given that a trade deal with America never seemed possible, let alone imminent, it didn’t much figure in the headlines. But with Trump in charge, it feels like everyone has to decide if they want to be in his gang – or not.

Maybe it was a bit undiplomatic, as she prepared to meet the US Treasury secretary. But what it sounds like Reeves was trying to do in these fraught, turbulent times was simply to add some sensible context and to calm this sudden tumult for a UK-US trade deal. This, after all, was trumpeted as the great prize by Leavers during the EU referendum campaign; in reality, it was a project that attracted only desultory attention from both governments during the previous Trump administration, and which fell into disrepair after Biden took over and said the US wasn’t interested in trade deals with anyone. Period.

Now, out of the chaos of the Trump tariff war, such a deal is the centre of attention all of a sudden, and people are getting overexcited. And Reeves doesn’t get overexcited about anything.