Report: China criticizes US-UK trade deal
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That is understood to mean preventing the UK becoming a 'backdoor' for China to export into America. The intervention underlines the headaches for Keir Starmer in navigating tensions between major economic powers.
A clearly angry premier replied: 'I think she just said a tiny tariff deal. Can I suggest she gets the train to Solihull, two hours, go to speak to the workforce at JLR (Jaguar Land Rover), their families, their communities, to tell them she would rip up the deal that protects their jobs. 'And when she's done that she might travel across to Scunthorpe and tell the steelworkers there she's going to rip up the deal that saves their jobs, and then if she's got time she can go up to Scotland and talk to the whisky distilleries, tell them she'd rip up the deal that's creating 1,200 jobs for them, boosting their exports, and then come back here next week and tell us what reaction she got.'
In a statement report by the Financial Times, Beijing's foreign ministry said: 'Co-operation between states should not be conducted against or to the detriment of the interests of third parties.' Relations between London and Beijing have thawed under Labour, with a resumption of high-level engagement following years of little contact under the previous Tory administration.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves visited the country in January, saying agreements worth £600million to the UK over the next five years had been reached on the trip. The deal agreed between Britain and the US removes the 25 percent tariff rate on UK steel and aluminum exports in exchange for giving America's agricultural industry greater access to British markets.
American levies on British cars fall from 25 percent to 10 percent for the first 100,000 vehicles exported to the US. However, a 10 percent baseline tariff on most goods remains in place. A Government source said it was 'for other countries to determine what is in their national interest' and that the UK 'continues to be open to investment from a wide range of countries including China.'
A Government spokesman said: 'This Government signed a deal with the US in the national interest to secure thousands of jobs across key sectors, protect British businesses and lay the groundwork for greater trade in the future.
'In line with our long-term, consistent approach, trade and investment with China remain important to the UK. We are continuing to engage pragmatically in areas that are rooted in UK and global interests and co-operate where we can, compete where we need to, and challenge where we must.'
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