I was in the room when Trump let slip the real reason behind his 11th-hour UK trade deal

Telegraph

08-05-2025

The occasion was a splashy trade deal with Britain, the first since Donald Trump triggered a tariff war as he looks to remake the global economy.
But an appearance from Lord Mandelson, the British ambassador to the US, technical questions about imports of chlorinated chicken and even a cameo – albeit by speakerphone – from Sir Keir Starmer were overshadowed by looming trade talks at the weekend with China.
If Britain was the day's big news, China was the context and climate – and probably the timing.
Questions about talks with China dominated the hour-long press conference.
So when I asked him whether the discussions with London included efforts to wean the UK off its trade with China, he quickly pivoted to why the world will be better off once he gets an agreement over the line with Beijing to open the country up.
'That'll be the greatest thing that ever happened to China. The people will be happier,' he said. 'They'll buy for less. They'll see things that they never saw before … and it'll really create great long-term peace.'
Mr Trump had revealed what the announcement was really all about. He is one step closer to a much bigger prize, and one that could define his presidency.
'I will tell you that China very much wants to make a deal,' said Mr Trump, from his position behind the gleaming Resolute Desk. 'We'll see how that works out.'
Key members of his cabinet stood behind him, while Lord Mandelson hovered over his right shoulder.
No one had expected the UK to be first across the line with a trade deal, although it was about the easiest to negotiate.
Washington and London share warm relations, and the two countries each export to each other just as much as they import.
And with one of Mr Trump's top negotiators headed for talks with China at the weekend, it gives the president a big win to deflect any hint that his administration is about to back down in its stand-off with Beijing.
'China, as you know, has a tremendous trade surplus with us, and we can't, you know, we just can't have that,' Mr Trump said.
A speakerphone on the desk allowed Sir Keir to add his voice to proceedings, even if his officials weren't sure whether the call would even happen until the very last moment.
'We're prepared for all eventualities,' said one.
That uncertainty reflected a deal that was scrambled together at the 11th hour.
It may have been sweetened by the 'special relationship', and Mr Trump's love of the Royal family, and with the way it was unveiled on the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe day, but the timing caught some British officials off guard.
Lord Mandelson had not even been in Washington for much of last week, with trips to New York and California.
Officials were still haggling over details on Wednesday after Mr Trump used a social media post to reveal that a 'major trade deal' was coming. It had been sealed in a phone call that night between Mr Trump and Sir Keir.
'Mr President, thank you very much indeed in hosting us this morning, and thank you very much indeed, also for that very typical 11th-hour intervention by you, demanding even more out of this deal than any of us expected,' said Lord Mandelson, prompting laughter from Mr Trump.
British officials insisted that the late-night tweaks simply marked the final approval step in a deep and thorough trading of language, benchmarks and texts that had gone on for weeks.
Yet other countries were supposedly ahead in the line.
India, South Korea, Japan and Australia had all been suggested as the first winners from talks, as Mr Trump looked to isolate China in its own backyard.
Instead Scott Bessent, the treasury secretary who kept a low profile at the fringes of the Oval Office on Thursday, will head to Switzerland for talks with Chinese negotiators.
Mr Trump exuded optimism, saying it could mean tariffs on China come down immediately. 'Well, it could be,' he said. 'I mean, we're going to see. Right now you can't get any higher at 145.'
Like the chamber of the British House of Commons, the Oval Office never feels quite big enough.
In recent weeks Mr Trump has taken to using it for press conferences, enjoying the back and forth with journalists lobbing questions from close range.
On Thursday, he had all the key players lined up behind him.
JD Vance, his vice-president, and Howard Lutnick, his commerce secretary, were lined up over his left shoulder, and the first to laugh at any jokes.
Mr Mandelson was on the other side, his face a fixed mask for much of the occasion, particularly Mr Trump's close-to-the-bone jokes about opponents.
But he managed to make the president smile, when he offered to sell him a Rolls-Royce after Mr Trump admitted his admiration for the British brand.
Beside them a chart showed the benefits to the US from the deal: $5 billion in extra market access, an extra $6 billion in tariffs.
Yet the questions kept coming back to China and who blinked first in asking for a meeting.
'We can all play games, who made the first call, who didn't make the call, doesn't matter,' said Mr Trump.
With his first trade deal out of the way, Mr Trump can declare his strategy a success as he swiftly moves on to a bigger but more contentious prize – forcing a reset in relations with China.