Mandelson tells US: ‘We don’t need to fight over trade’
The UK’s ambassador to the US Lord Mandelson and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer addressed a reception in Washington.
Lord Mandelson hailed Donald Trump as a “very consequential president” as the UK sought to avoid battles on tariffs with the White House.
The newly installed UK ambassador to the US said it was a “very significant moment for our lives, between our two countries and indeed for all the freedom-loving democracies in the world”.
Addressing a reception at his residence in Washington, the architect of New Labour said: “The US and the United Kingdom, we basically share everything together.
“We share people, we share cultures, we share a lot of intelligence, we share technologies, and… we also share some of the fighting of our adversaries as well.
“And of course one thing we don’t need to fight over is trade, because we have this fantastically fair and balanced trade relationship when we reciprocate so much – that’s just a little thing for you to remember in the coming weeks.”
Tariffs imposed by Mr Trump on British steel are set to come into force in March, with the president also considering other import taxes as part of his drive to protect American businesses.
Lord Mandelson told guests including officials from the Trump administration and business leaders: “You have a leader in this country in the president who in my view is going to be a very consequential president for this country indeed.”
The former Cabinet minister’s appointment as ambassador was not straightforward, with past comments about Mr Trump coming back to haunt him.
The Labour grandee called Mr Trump a “danger to the world” and “little short of a white nationalist and racist” several years ago.
He later used a New York Times interview to say that some of his comments about Mr Trump had been “childish and wrong”.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Foreign Secretary David Lammy were both at the reception at the ambassador’s residence – with Lord Mandelson describing them as “gatecrashers”.
Sir Keir said: “I’ve only just arrived but already I can feel there’s real buzz around Washington right now. You can sense that there’s a new leader.
“He’s a true one-off, a pioneer in business, in politics. Many people love him. Others love to hate him.
“But to us, he’ s just…. Peter.”
