Sir Keir Starmer’s EU Brexit reset could sink UK’s hopes of free trade deal, US warns
The Telegraph | 29 April 2025
Sir Keir Starmer’s EU Brexit reset could sink UK’s hopes of free trade deal, US warns
by Joe Barnes, Connor Stringer
The United States has warned that Sir Keir Starmer’s Brexit reset with the European Union could scupper a future trade deal with Washington.
British negotiators are understood to be close to signing an agreement that would align UK food and veterinary standards with the EU’s rulebook.
The US department of agriculture said that this would constrain Britain’s ability to conclude a free trade deal with Washington in a report approved by the American agricultural attaché in London.
“The UK Government is committed to signing a new sanitary and phytosanitary agreement with the EU to ease post-Brexit trading frictions, but depending on the type of deal agreed, it may impact the UK’s ability to negotiate future free trade agreements,” the report stated.
The report came to light as it was revealed that Downing Street had proposed a joint declaration to Brussels that would commit both sides to rejecting Donald Trump’s most controversial policies.
Any UK-EU deal that could shut out American products would be viewed as a hostile move by the US president.
It would also put an end to Sir Keir’s attempts to act as a broker between the White House and Brussels on a range of issues, including Ukrainian peace talks and trade tariffs.
On Tuesday, Brexit negotiators from Britain and the EU met in London for talks before a summit between the Prime Minister, European leaders and other UK ministers next month.
The Government has not denied that it could sign up to a Swiss-style agricultural deal with Brussels to ease trade checks on products moving both ways.
It would see the UK’s food standards “dynamically aligned” with the EU and ruled over by the European Court of Justice.
“Entering into a so-called ‘Switzerland-style’ agreement would require the UK to align with almost all the EU’s food safety rules and then dynamically replicate all future regulatory changes made by the block, thereby constraining the UK’s flexibility in negotiating the agricultural chapters of other FTAs,” the US report went on to warn.
The Government has insisted that it does not have to “choose” between its alliances with the EU and US.
Sir Keir has previously claimed that the national interest “demands that we work with both” blocs.
But on the eve of Mr Trump’s 100th day in office, British officials presented Europe with a draft document that insisted on Ukraine’s territorial integrity. It also called for support for the Paris climate agreement and free trade.
While the document makes no specific mention of Mr Trump or the US, it targets many of his most controversial policies.
If agreed, the “shared principles of maintaining global economic stability” will likely infuriate the US president at a time the UK is attempting to negotiate a carve-out from his 10 per cent tariffs on goods entering America.
Maros Sefcovic, the EU’s Brexit and trade chief, said that he had enjoyed a “productive exchange on securing balanced trade relationships” with his British counterparts on Tuesday.
“We discussed the state of international trade and the road ahead,” he added.
Nick Thomas-Symonds, the minister in charge of Brexit negotiations, said the talks were to “review progress” ahead of the summit on May 19.
“We have shared ambitions to build a safer, more secure, and prosperous future for people across the UK and Europe,” he added.
Their planned deal will also see a youth mobility scheme and guarantee access for European fishing boats to British waters.
