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Jamieson Greer, the US trade representative, has criticised the UK for failing to take advantage of Brexit by aligning with EU-made rules and closing its market to American goods. He said the UK still had pretty high tariffs and noted that British officials defer to the EU on accepting goods made to American standards. His comments come as Britain pushes to deepen ties with the EU six years after Brexit and as Trump rattles allies with tariff threats and pressure on NATO. New UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has signalled his determination to move closer to Brussels, pledging to work on getting closer to Europe at a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron. As part of a UK-EU reset, Burnham is poised to sign a deal removing border checks on UK food and drink exports, requiring compliance with strict EU food standards that Washington considers protectionist.
Jamieson Greer, the US trade representative, said that the UK had failed to take advantage of Brexit by aligning with EU-made rules and closing its market to American goods and still had “pretty high tariffs”.
Photograph: Jim Watson/Getty ImagesThe UK is choosing “Brussels over America”, causing a “problem” for London’s effort to expand a trade deal with the US, warned US President“That’s how we interpret it . . . based on my conversations with the UK, where I say, ‘Hey, you’re free of the EU . Why don’t you liberalise a little bit, accept goods made to American standards, accept agricultural goods made to American standards?
’” Greer said.
“And they say, ‘Well, we have to wait and see what the EU says about it’. You know that is a problem for us and that’s challenging.
”Odds tighten on CEO Rothwell’s bid for Irish Ferries owner The comments from Trump’s top trade official come as Britain and the EU push to deepen ties six years after the UK exited the bloc, and as Trump rattles allies across the Atlantic with threats to impose new tariffs, seize the Danish territory of Greenland, and curb US support for the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation . They also come as Andy Burnham, the UK’s new prime minister, has signalled his determination to move closer to Brussels, telling parliament on Wednesday that Brexit had damaged the British economy.
Burnham on Thursday pledged to work on the “UK’s drive to get closer to Europe” at a meeting in London with French president Emmanuel Macron, according to a Downing Street readout of their meeting. As part of the UK’s “reset” with the EU, Burnham is poised to sign a deal that would remove border checks on UK food and drink exports to the bloc.
This requires Britain to comply with strict EU food standards that Washington has long regarded as protectionist. The deal would also, in effect, block the UK from importing US products, such as chlorine-washed chicken and hormone-raised beef, which are barred from the EU. The UK government has also resisted US demands that it recognise American industrial goods standards as it looks to align with EU rules on cars, chemicals and other industrial sectors to facilitate trade with the bloc.
Trump has presided over a tumultuous 20 months of trade relations, alarming US commercial partners and global markets by imposing steep duties before negotiating lower levies and offering carve-outs and exemptions. In recent weeks, the US president has escalated trade tensions with Canada against a backdrop of increased hostility with Iran that has driven up energy prices and contributed to a global bond market sell-off.
The UK clinched the first trade deal struck with Washington since the start of Trump’s 2025 trade war, securing cuts to punitive tariffs on cars and steel. But a 10 per cent tariff on most British goods has left the UK facing a much tougher trading relationship with the US than before Trump’s second presidency.
Although the deal with the UK originally contained Washington’s pledge to offer in effect zero tariffs on some steel and aluminium imports, the US has instead kept in place a 25 per cent national security tariff on the metals — although most countries pay a higher 50 per cent rate. In return, the UK offered US farmers and ranchers a lower tariff on a quota of beef and removed duties on 1.4 billion litres of US ethanol.
The UK was also handed a three-year carve-out from US pharmaceutical and medical technology tariffs, in exchange for higher levels of spending on medicines by the country’s National Health Service. But the two countries have failed since then to move beyond what was intended to be a first step towards a broader deal.
Greer said he enjoyed a “good relationship” with UK business secretary Jonathan Reynolds, and that an early trade deal struck between Washington and London had been “beneficial to both sides” and “a good early harvest”. But he said there were “sticking points” in talks between the two sides, notably over agricultural and farm goods.
“The UK has had free access into the US agricultural market, where we’ve had very limited access on the US side into the UK agricultural market,” Greer said, adding that Washington had a trade deficit in farm goods with the UK. “You know . . . if you read the Economist and the FT, say we’re the bastion of free trade, but they still have pretty high tariffs on the US in certain sectors,” Greer said.
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