US figures have shown it has a surplus in trade in goods with the UK of about $12bn (£9.6bn), but the UK has reported a surplus with the US of about £2bn.
After a predictably unpredictable start to Donald Trump’s second term as US president, Conor is worried her options could be limited, as businesses across the UK brace for a global trade war.
“While the UK will look to prepare countermeasures that are carefully calibrated for maximum political impact – and strengthen broader trade relations – the best hope is to fly under the radar while Trump looks at the countries with which the US has consistent trade deficits.”.
The prime minister is due to visit Trump later this month, while UK ministers curried favour with the White House this week by joining the US in refusing to sign an artificial intelligence accord at a landmark Paris summit.
Rhys Davies, a former government trade adviser, now at the consultancy firm Flint Global, says: “The size of the UK economy, and its high openness to trade means that if it does come under pressure its ability to retaliate in a genuinely meaningful way is limited.
