Trump tariffs an early challenge for new ambassador Mandelson British steel exports to the US will be hit with 25% tariffs under Donald Trump’s plans as the UK’s new ambassador to Washington, Lord Mandelson, said people must respect the president’s “strong and clear mandate”.
Lord Mandelson, a former minister, European Union trade chief and a key architect of Labour’s renewal in the 1990s, said his “priority” in his new role will be to help encourage an investment relationship with the US fit for the 21st century.
Asked how the UK could try to persuade Mr Trump to change his position on certain policy areas without alienating his administration, he told the BBC: “Well, we’ve got to take all these issues as they come, realise that the president has a very strong and clear mandate for change in the United States.
Lord Mandelson acknowledged he is “concerned” about the looming prospect of tariffs and said Britain will “not necessarily agree” with every detail of the new US president’s agenda.
The UK’s top diplomat in Washington said Sir Keir Starmer’s Government can “always make our views known privately and directly” to Mr Trump but that it must “understand what drives him”.
