Shred UK trade deal

Trump threatens to shred UK trade deal over Starmer’s Iran war opposition

The U.K. prime minister hit back saying he will not yield to the U.S. president’s threats.

By Sophie Inge

U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to unpick America’s trade deal with the U.K. amid increasing frustration over Britain’s opposition to military action against Iran.

In an interview on Wednesday, the president said the United States had given the U.K. a “good trade deal” that was “better than I had to,” adding that it could “always be changed.”

His comments to Sky News come as tempers flare in Washington over the U.K.’s stance on Iran, with Trump also turning his criticism towards Prime Minister Keir Starmer — casting fresh doubt on the strength of the so-called “special relationship.”

Speaking in the House of Commons Wednesday Starmer told MPs he will not yield to the U.S. president's threats.

"It is not our war, and a lot of pressure has been applied to me to take a different course, and that pressure included what happened last night. I'm not going to change my mind. I'm not going to yield," he told British MPs.

Asked about U.K.-U.S. relations in the same Sky interview, Trump did not hold back. “It’s the relationship where: when we asked them for help, they were not there. When we needed them, they were not there. When we didn’t need them, they were not there. And they still aren’t there.”

The U.S. president’s threat will sound alarm bells through Westminster 11 months after the U.K. became the first country to sign a trade deal with the U.S. under Trump's second term. The pact saw the U.S. agree to lower tariffs on British automotives, steel and aerospace in exchange for beef and bioethanol access.

As the first anniversary of the deal approaches, U.S. tariffs on British steel have still not been fully removed, while the future of the Technology Prosperity Deal negotiated during Trump’s state visit to the U.K. in September hangs in the balance amid concern over the pace of wider trade negotiations.

The U.S. president, whose “drill, baby drill” mantra has defined his energy policy, also used the interview to sound off about the U.K.’s decision to cut back on new oil and gas exploration in the North Sea.

“I think he [Starmer] has made a tragic mistake in closing the North Sea oil,” the president said. “You see your energy prices are the highest in the world.”

Trump’s comments are awkwardly timed ahead of King Charles III’s planned state visit to the U.S. later this month.

Lib Dem leader Ed Davey said Trump's trade deal threat must be "the last straw," and urged Starmer not to send the British monarch to meet "a man who treats our country like a mafia boss running a protection racket. "

Despite his growing anger towards the U.K. government, Trump was full of warm words for Charles in the Sky interview, describing the king as a “great gentleman” and a “friend."