MINISTERS DENY HANDING TRUMP A 'VETO' OVER CHINESE INVESTMENT IN UK IN NEW US TRADE DEAL
Donald Trump will not be able to 'veto' Chinese investment in the UK under the terms of a new US trade deal, a senior minister said today.
Darren Jones said reports that the White House would be able to block sources of foreign cash were 'nonsense', the day after Sir Keir Starmer and the president announced a tariff-reduction agreement.
Government officials told the Telegraph that the US would be allowed to flag concerns about Beijing-linked firms buying infrastructure and prompt ministers to take a closer look.
The Conservatives claimed that this amounted to handing power to the US, with shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel saying: 'It looks like he's effectively handed America a veto over investment decisions in the UK.'
But Treasury minister Mr Jones this morning said: 'We've not even published all of the documents yet, so I'm not quite sure how they were able to come up with that.
'I can be completely categorical with you there is no such thing as a veto on Chinese investment in this trade deal, this is not what this trade deal is about.
'It is a sectoral trade deal in relation to tariffs in key sectors, in the way that we've just been talking about.
'So I'd suggest the Conservative Party reads the documents and they maybe come back for a second go.'
Brits are digesting the impact of Keir Starmer's trade deal with the US today as figures show it only covers around a quarter of UK exports.
The pact theatrically announced by the PM and US president last night will cut tariffs from 25 per cent to 10 per cent for the first 100,000 cars sent to America.
Levies on steel exports will also be slashed from 25 per cent to zero, in return for concessions such as cutting tariffs on US cars and farmers getting more access to British markets. In a round of interviews this morning, Mr Jones insisted 150,000 workers would be 'relieved' that their jobs were no longer at risk.
However, the pact still leaves tariffs higher than before Mr Trump kicked off his extraordinary trade war.
Analysis by Sky News suggests that of the £273billion of exports to the States over the past five years, barely a quarter would be affected by the agreement - with the rest facing the 10 per cent 'baseline' charge.
That also assumes the critical pharma sector, accounting for £25.2billion of the total over the period, secures an exemption from Mr Trump's next wave of tariffs - which appears far from certain.
The agreement did not include any provision for the UK film industry, after the president threatened 100 per cent levies on foreign-made movies.
And the US does not appear to have given up on a push to help tech giants by watering down the Digital Service Tax.
Mr Jones told the BBC on the absence of terms on pharma and films: 'The nothing is good news... those tariffs have not come forward.'