Latest news with #PeterMandelson
The Independent
a day ago
- Business
- The Independent
The UK-US trade deal has been thrown into chaos by Trump tariff ban - where do we go from here?
In their haste to be seen as Donald Trump 's closest buddies, there is now a serious question mark over whether Sir Keir Starmer and his government should have shown more patience in getting a 'great and beautiful' trade deal with the US. The deal, which was symbolically the first post- 'Liberation Day' agreement signed by President Trump with any country, was put in place to reduce the impact of the tariffs the US president had imposed. But while Sir Keir and the rest of the world's leaders were rapidly scrambling to respond, calmer, more measured voices in Washington were warning that the US president would never be able to go through with them. Now, it seems they were right, with the US Court of International Trade ruling that Trump 'exceeded his authority' when he imposed his sweeping levies on countries across the world and has blocked the move. The UK's ambassador in the US, Peter Mandelson, had been a strong advocate of getting a deal done with Trump quickly, and he probably saw the tariffs as an opportunity to accelerate the process. But had he listened to the wiser voices in DC more carefully, maybe Britain would not have been in such a hurry. Never mind that Trump came within hours of having his own Liz Truss moment with a meltdown on the bond markets before Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent persuaded him to suspend the tariffs just in time. It is understood that this was only achieved because Bessent's co-conspirator managed to distract Trump's tariff guru Peter Navarro and keep him away from the president long enough. The real issue, as pointed out by the Heritage Foundation's trade expert Andrew Hale - an ally not opponent of the administration - was that Trump never had the monarchical powers to impose these tariffs without legislation from Congress. The US Constitution specifically prevents presidents from acting like tyrants on a whim. Trump was relying on the Emergency Powers Act, which does not even mention the words 'tariffs'. Added to that, it is hard to justify why Canadian maple syrup, Scotch whisky or foreign films should constitute a national emergency. So the legal ruling yesterday - now subject to appeals - was inevitable and is likely to be upheld in higher courts, probably all the way to the Supreme Court. What this means though is that the series of trade negotiations, including the one already signed by the US and UK, are in chaos. Do the terms Trump imposed still apply? It seems not. In the best-case scenario for Sir Keir, the UK now has better trading terms with the US, minus the 10 per cent tariffs. But it may be that they have to go back to the drawing table altogether. Fortunately, in the deal's small print was the means to continue talks to create a trade hub on future technologies, such as artificial intelligence and biotech which will shape the world's future. But where current goods and services now stand is anyone's guess. It may be that in signing up to tariffs, the UK has inadvertently put itself in a worse position than the countries which have not yet signed deals on whom most of the tariffs do not apply. There was already a question mark over the UK-US trade deal in terms of when the new terms would apply. Contrary to expectation, the 25 per cent imposed on cars and steel (which crucially, are unaffected by the court ruling), supposedly lowered to 10 per cent in the deal, is still in place. The wider picture, though, is that the reckless shock tactics on the global trading system initiated by Trump have now only led to more uncertainty and confusion with this legal ruling. Even though the markets reacted positively to the tariffs being ruled illegal, it could take months to resolve the chaos, putting the worldwide economy on a knife-edge.
The Guardian
2 days ago
- Business
- The Guardian
Iran threatens to end nuclear talks with Europe after Mandelson comments
Iran's foreign minister has threatened to end all talks with European officials over its nuclear programme after Peter Mandelson, the UK ambassador to Washington, appeared to side with US calls to eliminate Iran's uranium enrichment facilities. It was not clear if Lord Mandelson's remarks during a question and answer session at the Atlantic Council in Washington revealed an unannounced change in UK policy or if, in seeking to side with Donald Trump, he had spoken in a way to allow misinterpretation. After five rounds of talks between Iran and the US mediated by Oman, the two sides remain at loggerheads over Iran's continued ability to enrich uranium, which Tehran regards as a sovereign right and which the US fears leaves open a path to an Iranian nuclear bomb. After Mandelson's comments, Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, posted on social media on Wednesday: 'If the UK position is 'zero enrichment' in Iran, there is nothing left for us to discuss on the nuclear issue.' He said such request was a clear violation of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and violated Britain's commitments in the joint comprehensive plan of action (JCPoA), the agreement to contain Iran's civil nuclear programme that the UK and other world powers signed with Iran in 2015. Under the JCPoA, Iran is entitled to enrich uranium to up to 3.75% purity subject to an intrusive inspection regime. Speaking later to reporters on a visit to Oman, Araghchi said: 'This tweet was in response to a British official who had talked about zero enrichment. I said there explicitly that we continued our consultations with three European countries during this period, but if their position is zero enrichment, we will no longer have any talks with them about nuclear issues.' He continued: 'They must determine their own position, and we are not joking with anyone on the issue of enrichment.' On Tuesday, Mandelson had said: 'Iran since the theocratic revolution has never been in a weaker state than it is now. Weakened by economic sanctions, weakened by the heavy pounding that its proxies have taken. Weaker because of the growth of public opinion, especially amongst young people in Iran, away from the regime. Iran is vulnerable. But it still retains enrichment facilities which can produce … a nuclear bomb. And we can't accept that. 'So Britain strongly support the [US] president's initiative in negotiating away these enrichment and related facilities in Iran. We support what Steve Witkoff [the US special envoy to the Middle East] has been doing in his negotiations, which are making some progress.' Trump has spoken of a good announcement within days, but many of his predictions about diplomatic breakthroughs have proved optimistic No date has been set for a sixth round of talks, but in a potentially important concession Iran has announced it may be willing to have US, and not just UN, inspectors visit and monitor its controversial nuclear programme. Iran has already offered to revert to much lower levels of enrichment, and for its stocks of highly enriched uranium to be put out of use, probably in a third country such as Russia. After Trump unilaterally left the agreement in 2018, Iran responded by enriching to much higher levels that took its nuclear programme close to the purity levels required to make a nuclear bomb. The proposal for US inspectors was made in Tehran by Iran's nuclear chief, Mohammad Eslami on Wednesday and came as Oman hosted the Iranian president, Masoud Pezeshkian, in a further attempt to break the deadlock in the talks. One idea is for an interim minimal agreement to be reached in which some US economic sanctions are lifted and inspections are fully restored. The UK, France and Germany have in effect been sidelined in the US-led talks over the nuclear programme, but senior Israeli officials have been holding talks with Witkoff and the CIA. The Iranian foreign ministry briefed three European officials in Geneva two weeks ago but European officials have remained silent on the US conduct of the talks.
The Independent
2 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
Peter Mandelson criticises ‘fetish' for scrapping EU rules that work in Britain's favour
Peter Mandelson has hit out at what he said was a 'fetish' for scrapping EU rules that work in Britain's favour but warned that Britain will not rejoin the bloc 'for the foreseeable future'. Speaking at the Atlantic Council in Washington, the UK's ambassador to the US defended Sir Keir's recently signed 'reset' deal with the EU, saying the previous deal Britain had struck with the bloc was 'pretty miserable' and denying that closer alignment would begin the process of Britain rejoining. 'Why make a fetish of dis-alignment when we know that it's in the interests of our business and traders to pursue and to follow those rules and standards', he said. The previous Conservative government had promised to scrap up to 4,000 EU laws as part of a post-Brexit bonfire of regulation, but watered down the plans almost entirely as a result of the massive administrative burden. Lord Mandelson also argued that Britain's job on the world stage is to 'be of huge usefulness, both to the United States and the European Union'. He added: 'We're not in the European Union anymore, and we're not going to go back for the foreseeable future, certainly. But we are European, a European country. 'We left the European Union with a pretty miserable deal, frankly, unfair to us, not particularly favourable in the long term to the EU.' Sir Keir – who has made the Brexit reset a centrepiece of his administration – said last week's summit marks a 'new era' of relations with the bloc, adding that it is about 'moving on from stale old debates' and 'looking forward, not backwards'. Lord Mandelson also used his Atlantic Council address to argue that the transatlantic alliance needs a 'boot up the backside', saying that Britain must work closely with the US to take on Chinese technological dominance. The UK's ambassador to the US argued Beijing represents a 'far more dynamic and formidable strategic rival than the Soviet Union ever was', urging Britain and the US to combine forces to 'drive the scientific breakthroughs that will define this century'. 'Rather than stifling these transformative technologies through excessive regulation, our two governments must unleash their immense potential for human benefit and Western advantage', he said. While Donald Trump almost blocked Lord Mandelson's ambassadorship because of concerns about his links to China, the Labour peer now appears to have turned against Beijing, saying there is 'there is nothing in this world I fear more than China winning the race for technological dominance'. The ambassador warned that there is now a 'new dynamic between China and the west', saying Britain and the US 'must not be afraid... to take on aspects of China's behaviour and policies'. He also urged European countries to step up their defence spending and stop 'living in a fantasy created by the US security guarantee', accusing Europe of having spent decades relying on the US to defend it in the face of global threats. Lord Mandelson said: "If we are serious about rebuilding confidence in the international system… we need to devote an enormous amount of energy and goodwill to preserve, sustain and deepen the alliances which exist between like-minded countries for the UK and the rest of Europe. 'We must reboot the transatlantic alliance. Indeed, a boot up the proverbial backside is needed now to deliver peace through strength across three interconnected domains - military, economic and technological." Lord Mandelson added: "We have lived in a fantasy created by the US security guarantee, complacent that a friendly heavyweight across the water would be always there when the going gets tough.'
The Independent
2 days ago
- General
- The Independent
UK ambassador Peter Mandelson says he wishes he never met Jeffrey Epstein
The UK's ambassador to the US, Peter Mandelson, has said he 'regrets' his relationship with the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. Lord Mandelson has repeatedly been quizzed on his friendship with the paedophile and convicted sex trafficker. Epstein died in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on charges of sex trafficking minors. An internal JPMorgan report from 2019, filed to a New York court in 2023, said that 'Jeffrey Epstein appears to maintain a particularly close relationship with Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, and Lord Peter Mandelson, a senior member of the British government', according to the Financial Times. The dossier laid bare the Labour grandee's ties to the late paedophile – who was close enough to the former Labour cabinet minister to call him 'Petie'. It is not clear when Mandelson was introduced to Epstein, though a 2002 New York Magazine said he had a dinner party at Epstein's Manhattan home. A photo of Mandelson and Epstein celebrating a birthday at Epstein's Paris home in 2007 emerged in 2022. There is no suggestion of wrongdoing by Mandelson. Speaking to Sky News on Tuesday, the UK ambassador to the US was asked if he stayed in one of Epstein's properties while he was in jail. He replied: "I'm not answering any questions about him. My knowledge of him is something I regret, I wish I'd never met him in the first place." He was then pressed on if he had a relationship with Epstein while he was in jail. Lord Mandelson replied: "Why did many people meet him? He was a prolific networker. And I wish I'd never met him in the first place." Earlier this year, the Labour grandee told the Financial Times: 'I regret ever meeting him or being introduced to him by his partner Ghislaine Maxwell. I regret even more the hurt he caused to many young women.' He went on to add: 'I'm not going to go into this. It's an FT obsession and frankly you can all f*** off. OK?' Lord Mandelson was appointed UK ambassador to the United States in December 2024. He had described Donald Trump as a 'danger to the world' in 2019. Following his appointment as ambassador, he said his comments were 'ill-judged and wrong'.
Japan Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Japan Times
U.K. envoy urges transatlantic tech alliance, cites China threat
The U.S. and its allies across the Atlantic must forge a technology partnership and win the artificial intelligence race even as China makes steady advances, the U.K.'s envoy in Washington said. Ambassador Peter Mandelson warned of the consequences if China continues to get ahead in AI and other key technologies. "They will be able to do things which cascade down not just to their own country but everyone else's across the world,' Mandelson said at an event hosted by the Atlantic Council in Washington on Tuesday. "There is nothing I fear more in this world than China winning the race for technological dominance.' Before being appointed ambassador, Lord Mandelson had criticized the Conservative-led government for mismanaging ties with China and called for a thaw in relations. He is a founder of Global Counsel, a firm that's become one of the most influential advisory groups in the U.K. and has been expanding its coverage of China. The Labour government under Prime Minister Keir Starmer has been pursuing closer ties with Beijing despite unease in Washington and other U.K. allies. Mandelson said U.K.-China relations are unlikely to return to where they were a decade ago. "We're not going to to back to the 'Golden Era' of Cameron,' he said, referring to former Prime Minister David Cameron, whose government hosted Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2015 in a visit hailed as a breakthrough in ties. Since then, London's relationship with Beijing has deteriorated over a crackdown on pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, its support for Russia's war in Ukraine, and alleged cyberattacks and spying operations in the U.K.. Mandelson also cautioned the European Union to be "much more skeptical' about building closer ties with China, even as the two sides step up their engagement to push back against the Trump administration's tariffs. The ambassador called for a "reboot' of the trans-Atlantic alliance not only in technology but also defense, pointing to the war in Ukraine as a "brutal wake-up call.' He said European defense needs to step up and become less dependent on the U.S. NATO leaders are expected to sign off on a new defense spending goal during their summit in The Hague next month, with U.S. President Donald Trump demanding an increase to 5% of GDP. "We have lived in a fantasy created by the U.S. security guarantee, complacent that a friendly heavyweight across the water would be always there when the going gets tough,' he said.
