US reports emerged on Wednesday that the Trump administration will seek to use ongoing tariff negotiations with more than 70 countries to isolate China’s economy in return for lower import levies.
The UK is among dozens of nations seeking to have tariffs on exports to the US removed as part of its trade talks.
The source added that talks with the US and the UK’s dealings with Beijing should “not be conflated”.
Keir Starmer’s efforts to recalibrate the UK’s relationship with Beijing came under strain this week after the Government was forced to ram through emergency legislation to wrest control of British Steel from its Chinese owners, Jingye, due to fears of the future of the industry.
On Wednesday a spokesman for the Chinese embassy in the UK appeared to stoke the row by describing the “anti-China rhetoric of some British politicians” as “absurd, reflecting their arrogance, ignorance and twisted mindset”.
“At a time when the US is wielding the tariff stick against all countries, the UK included, and engaging in unilateral and protectionist trade bullying, those British politicians just keep slandering the Chinese government and Chinese enterprises instead of criticizing the United States. What on earth are they up to?”
In a statement to the Financial Times Zengwei An, chief executive of Jingye British Steel, said the company understood the emergency law but it “request[s] that the UK government respect and protect the legitimate rights and interests of Jingye as a foreign investor throughout this process”.
According to the Wall Street Journal, US officials are planning on using negotiations on tariffs to demand other countries disallow China from using tariff-free exports to second countries in order to then move on goods to America, stopping Chinese companies opening overseas, and demanding countries do not allow cheaper Chinese goods be sold in their own economies.
On Tuesday Trump himself hinted at the proposals, stating that he would force countries to choose between the US and China.
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Allie Renison, director at SEC Newgate and a former official at the Department for International Trade, said the trend out of Washington to encourage its allies and trading partners to move away from engaging with China is “accelerating under Trump”. And while she added the Government will be reviewing Chinese investment into critical sectors in the wake of the British Steel “saga”, she added it is “unlikely to want to divest from economic engagement with China entirely”.
“For all these reasons, while much has been said about the UK having to choose between the US and the EU, how it deals with China on trade may end up more of a dilemma.”
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