LONDON — In a world blighted by tariffs and increasing protectionism, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer is starting to realize that teamwork really is the only way to make his free trade dream a reality. “I do think that it’s [a] difficult environment, but there are significant opportunities if we’re agile about it, if we understand the world we’re living in, and get ahead of the curve,” Starmer told businesses in Westminster on Thursday as he set out the U.K.’s first Trade Strategy since Brexit. While underscoring the importance of trade deals with the likes of India and the U.S., Starmer hinted at a more multilateral approach to trade policy. “I think we should also talk to like-minded countries, because they recognize that the world is changing,” he said. “I’ve been talking to the leaders in Japan, in Singapore, in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, about how we, the U.K., can trade in an easier and better way with them and whether we as a group of countries can trade with other countries in an easier and better way.” The countries mentioned are all members of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), an Asia-Pacific trading bloc which the U.K. joined in December. ASIA-PACIFIC BLOC ‘MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER’ Starmer’s words were borne out in the government’s new trade strategy, where the U.K. committed to working alongside partners and allies to negotiate and agree an “ambitious agenda for future plurilateral agreements.” It describes the role of groupings such as CPTPP as “more important than ever in the current global context.” “We will use CPTPP as a platform to support the wider multilateral and plurilateral system, and to encourage deeper trading relationships between countries and groupings committed to liberal rules-based trade,” the strategy said. At a recent meeting in Korea, CPTPP members committed to work with the EU and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations — a regional grouping of 10 states in Southeast Asia — to liberalize global trade in light of “significant challenges” facing the international trading environment.   This could include discussions on areas such as tariffs, digital trade, rules of origin, supply chains, customs administration and innovation, the Trade Strategy said, adding that these dialogues could “create a platform for other trade-focused economies to participate, so broadening our network of collaborative partnerships.” In another sign of the U.K.’s commitment to a multilateral trading system, the U.K. announced it would join the World Trade Organization’s Multi-Party Interim Appeal Arbitration Arrangement (MPIA), an alternative system for resolving WTO disputes. The U.K. had previously dragged its heels on signing up to the mechanism. “Joining MPIA sends a clear signal that the U.K. is committed to the principles of free and fair trade and that we will champion progress wherever and whenever necessary,” the strategy said.

LONDON — Britain’s trade chief is confident he can lower U.S. President Donald Trump’s 10 percent “reciprocal tariffs” on imports of U.K. goods. “There’s no doubt in my mind we can get progress on reciprocal tariffs,” Jonathan Reynolds said in response to a question from POLITICO at the British Chambers of Commerce Global Annual Conference in London. The U.K.’s business and trade secretary also said he has “no doubt” that the U.S. administration will lower 25 percent tariffs on British steel and aluminum imports, as part of the trade pact Prime Minister Keir Starmer struck with Trump early last month. “The issue with implementation of the steel agreement is the melt and pour rules, which is the U.S. interpretation of rules of origin around steel,” Reynolds said. The rules require steel imported to the U.S. to be manufactured in its country of origin. However, furnaces at Tata Steel UK’s Port Talbot steel mill — the largest steel exporter in the U.K. — are shut for several years as the firm transitions to greener tech. That means the company is importing steel from its plants in India and the Netherlands. Implementing the deal with Trump “is very much about making sure Port Talbot gets the benefit of it as well,” Reynolds said, with the U.K. pushing for exemptions. Reynolds spoke during the launch of the government’s Trade Strategy which sets out plans to seize new powers to protect steel and other domestic industries. Starmer’s special adviser on business, Varun Chandra, has been in Washington this week to progress further talks and U.S. implementation of the deal. The U.S. has set a deadline of July 9 for trade talks with a number of countries. Lowering Britain’s digital services tax on the revenues of search engines, social media and online marketplaces is not part of the ongoing negotiations, Reynolds said. “In the wider discussions, you know U.S. concerns about digital services tax have been there,” he said. “But I think it’s always been wrong to portray the U.S. position as somehow demanding a reduction in tax for U.S. tech companies in exchange for trade access, export access to the U.S.”

LONDON — The U.K. government will consult businesses on whether Britain should join a European customs agreement to simplify rules around international supply chains. The Pan-Euro-Mediterranean customs convention (PEM) relaxes rules of origin — useful for firms with international production chains that cross borders. The government’s Trade Strategy published on Thursday morning says that joining PEM would “increase flexibility for UK exporters where they source their inputs.” The agreement adds: “The question of UK accession therefore merits further review, and this is reflected in feedback from business. We will now engage business and PEM members to consider the benefits of joining PEM.” But the document says the government recognizes “that PEM rules could have varying effects on businesses” and says it will assess “whether we are using our current trading relationships with these partners to best effect.” PEM covers the 27 EU member states, as well as dozens of other countries in the region ranging from Turkey, Morocco and Syria to Serbia, Moldova and Ukraine. The agreement is not a customs union, and the U.K. would still retain an independent trade policy and set its own tariffs and quotas. But it would mean businesses such as car manufacturers sourcing parts of their products from other PEM countries would face less red tape. RULES OF ORIGIN Under international trade rules, products can only benefit from the low tariffs in free trade agreements if they are actually made in the countries that are party to the agreement. However, if a product is made in more than one country then “rules of origin” determine whether it counts as domestically produced or a foreign import — usually by looking at how much value has been added where. Under PEM, companies can sometimes count inputs from other PEM members as domestic production — giving them more flexibility on where they source inputs from without risking being hit by tariffs. Not all businesses support membership as some would see their competitors get a competitive advantage. In January Trade Minister Douglas Alexander noted there are “some stakeholders who would argue that there would be disadvantages to sectors of U.K. business if we were to rejoin.” But he added: “It is an issue that we are open to looking at, because we want to take a pragmatic view as to where the national interest lies.” EU Brexit chief Maroš Šefčovič said at the time that British membership of the convention was “something we could consider.”

LONDON — In a much-hyped split-screen Oval Office phone call a month ago, U.S. President Donald Trump promised Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer that the two had struck an “historic” trade deal. The agreement would lower Trump’s punishing 25 percent tariffs on key U.K. exports, including cars, steel and aluminum, the White House said. The pact meant tariffs would be “immediately slashed,” No. 10 trumpeted. A month later, those duties remain in place. There is still no clear timeline for when they’ll lift. “Both countries sold their announcement as if [the deal] was done,” said a senior British business representative. And while there’s “no evidence” yet to suggest the tariffs won’t eventually be lifted, they explained, “until it’s done, it’s not done.” Multiple business representatives told POLITICO it could be the end of this month before the duties finally lift. They and others were granted anonymity to speak candidly. STEP BY STEP “Our negotiated deal with the United Kingdom is working out well for all,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform on May 23. But in parliament last week, Starmer conceded it could be “just a couple of weeks” more before the U.S.-U.K. Economic Prosperity Deal, struck May 8, actually comes into effect. “I’m sure the U.K. government feels enormously frustrated about this,” said the senior British business representative. “I don’t think the U.K. government knows” when the deal will finally take effect, they added. “I don’t think their trade negotiators know.” Negotiations over the pact’s implementation are “all on course,” said one senior U.K. official, but added: “But one step at a time.” Executives from Jaguar Land Rover and Tata Steel told lawmakers this week that they’re getting pummeled by U.S. tariffs. | Adam Vaughan/EPA During a meeting in Paris on Tuesday, Britain’s Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds pressed U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer to set out timelines for implementing the deal. The two have a “shared desire,” according to a U.K. readout, to lower “sectoral tariffs as soon as possible.” STEEL WAITING The same day, Industry Minister Sarah Jones met with steel and aluminum companies and senior industry figures to discuss next steps. According to one industry insider briefed on the discussion, firms were told it could be the end of June before rates go to zero. Later that night, the U.K. won a reprieve after Trump raised his tariffs on global steel and aluminum imports to 50 percent. The White House announced the U.K. would instead remain at 25 percent … for now. Starmer said the reprieve is “a result of our landmark deal with the U.S.” Yet the executive order spelled out that the president could still hit London with 50 percent steel tariffs “on or after 9 July” if he “determines that the U.K. has not complied with relevant aspects” of their deal. That means tariffs could go up if Britain doesn’t make good on the raft of promises it made in the deal, including scrubbing China from its supply chains in steel and other industries, and giving American beef farmers a bigger bite of Britain’s market. “We’re pleased that, as a result of our agreement with the U.S., U.K. steel will not be subject to these additional tariffs,” said a government spokesperson. “We will continue to work with the U.S. to implement our agreement, which will see the 25 percent U.S. tariffs on steel removed.” “We support an agreement, but it is time the government came clean,” said Conservative Shadow Trade Secretary Andrew Griffith, noting: “The only issue is that tariffs continue exactly as before and no deal has come into effect.” PAY IT BACK? Lowering the steel tariffs “could take several months,” said Laurence McDougall, owner and managing director of All Steels Trading. In the meantime, the firm is being forced by its customers in the U.S. to pay the duties, McDougall said. They usually export between two and six shipping containers filled with steel products to the U.S. every month. British firms expect a “dribble of legal text” firming up different aspects of the deal in the coming weeks, said a second senior business representative. “There is still a lot of uncertainty regarding when the U.S. will bring into force the automotive tariff-rate quota, and what the rules of origin requirements for accessing it will be,” said Sam Lowe, a partner and automotive trade expert at Flint Global, referencing rules governing the countries from which a product’s supply chain is drawn. Cutting China from the list would be a blow for many British automakers, many of which source electric vehicle batteries there. Keir Starmer conceded it could be “just a couple of weeks” more before the U.S.-U.K. Economic Prosperity Deal, struck on May 8, actually comes into effect. | Pool Photo by Andy Rain via EPA “Given the original document implied the deal would come into force shortly after the announcement, I think there is a reasonable expectation that the benefits will be backdated once they are eventually put on the books,” Lowe said. “But this isn’t 100 percent guaranteed.” GETTING PUMMELED Executives from Jaguar Land Rover and Tata Steel told lawmakers last week that they’re getting pummeled by U.S. tariffs. The duties have hit Britain’s steel exporters since early March, while carmakers have faced the sectoral duties since early April. “The deal is not implemented as it stands at the moment,” Murray Paul, public affairs director at Jaguar Land Rover, told the U.K. parliament’s Business and Trade Committee. The firm, he said, is “working under the assumption” that it will be reimbursed for any tariffs that it has paid the U.S. government backdated to May 8. “We need to know when the [Executive Order] will be signed for implementation.” “There’s … a limit [to] how much we can do in the background to absorb some of that pricing,” JLR’s Paul said, noting that price rises have been passed on to customers. The firm had paused its exports after Trump imposed the 25 percent tariffs in early April, but restarted U.S. shipments the weekend before Downing Street announced the deal. The 25 percent tariffs on British steel exports have proven “extraordinarily difficult,” Russell Codling, Tata Steel’s director of markets and business development, told members of parliament. The company does between £100 million and £150 million-worth of business in the U.S. each year. Even with just the 25 percent tariff, Codling said, “at the moment we’re extremely exposed.” Stefan Boscia contributed reporting.

LONDON — Britain’s Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds will meet with his U.S. counterpart Jamieson Greer next week in a bid to hash out a timeline for lifting tariffs on British auto, steel and aluminum exports to the United States. U.S. President Donald Trump announced the U.S.-U.K. Economic Prosperity Deal to great fanfare in the Oval Office three weeks ago. But British businesses fear it could be weeks — or longer — before the 25 percent sectoral tariffs hitting key sectors are finally lifted. Reynolds and Greer will hold talks on the margins of an informal gathering of G7 trade ministers meeting in Paris, shortly after an OECD trade ministers summit in the French capital. Many British firms either aren’t exporting to the U.S. or are being forced by their American customers to pay the duties as they await clarity on tariff relief. Trump first slapped extra tariffs on British steel and aluminum in March before issuing further tariffs on automotive imports. A federal court struck down Donald Trump’s tariffs on dozens of countries on Wednesday night, ruling the U.S. president overstepped his powers by implementing the measures without the approval of Congress. The court’s ruling, which the White House is set to appeal, nullified a 10 percent tariff imposed on all U.S. trading partners, including the U.K. But it does not cover the 25 percent sectoral tariffs. “The UK was the first country to secure a deal with the US in a move that will protect British business and jobs across key sectors, from autos to steel,” a U.K. government spokesperson said. “We are working to ensure that businesses can benefit from the deal as quickly as possible and will confirm next steps in due course.” ‘NOTHING HAS CHANGED’ Under the Economic Prosperity Deal agreed on May 8, the U.S. and U.K. agreed to establish new quotas for British steel and aluminum imports. They agreed that both countries would “coordinate the timing of their respective tariff reductions to be as soon as practicable, taking into consideration their respective domestic processes.” The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has told British firms the new steel quotas will be finalized within two to three weeks, said a senior business representative granted anonymity to speak candidly about private discussions. The Trump administration could potentially enact the measures through an executive order, they pointed out. Fully removing the tariffs will also require changes to rules of origin in the U.S., including for U.K. car exports and car parts. “We don’t have clarity on auto parts,” the senior business representative said, adding businesses have “not been told by DBT how many other areas would need work” in the deal. For now “nothing has changed,” they said, and “millions of orders are at risk” as the tariffs remain in effect.  “The devil is in the detail,” said Stephen Morley, president of the Confederation of British Metalforming, a business group representing 200 U.K. manufacturers. “Our members who are dealing directly with DBT are being told hopefully two to four weeks” for new steel quotas to be established. Right now, Morley added, his members are “patiently waiting” to resume their exports. Laurence McDougall, owner and managing director of All Steels Trading, a steel trader in North Yorkshire, said the firm’s U.S. customers have pulled back on orders since the tariffs came into effect. The company exports specialized steel and steel products used in shipbuilding, roller conveyor systems like those in Amazon warehouses and automotive manufacturing components. “When we heard the news that the duty had been removed on U.K. steel, we advised our customers, and then we started sending containers shortly after,” McDougall said. While the goods were on the water and about to arrive in the U.S. “that’s when we discovered that it was just a deal in principle” and yet to be ratified.

LONDON — The British government on Wednesday refused to rule out lowering tariffs on U.S. automotive imports as part of a trade deal with Donald Trump’s administration. The U.S. government is consulting on the terms of a potential trade deal with the U.K., including pushing for British tariffs on U.S. vehicles to be lowered from 10 percent to 2.5 percent, according to a Wall Street Journal report on Tuesday night. The publication said Washington is also pushing the U.K. to relax rules on agricultural imports from the U.S., including beef, and to revise rules of origin for goods from each nation. A spokesperson for the U.K. prime minister was tight-lipped when questioned about the reports Wednesday afternoon. “We’re having trade talks with the U.S. to seek to reduce barriers to trade between the U.K. and the U.S. so I’m not going to get ahead of those talks,” they told reporters. “But obviously we’re having constructive discussions with the U.S.” However, the spokesperson stressed that animal food standards were a “red line” for U.K. negotiators, suggesting the U.K. would not back down on a ban on imports of hormone-treated beef. The reports come as U.K. Chancellor Rachel Reeves kicks off a three-day visit to Washington D.C. for the International Monetary Fund’s Spring talks, where she is expected to meet U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, now U.S. President Donald Trump’s go-to trade negotiator. British officials are prioritizing efforts to negotiate down the 25 percent tariffs on cars, steel and aluminum, and looming duties on pharmaceuticals, imposed by the Trump administration. Speaking last night, Reeves said she would “stand up for Britain’s national interest.” Asked about negotiations in the House of Commons on Wednesday, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the U.K. would negotiate “in the national interest and uphold the highest animal welfare standards.” Shadow Trade Secretary Andrew Griffith told POLITICO a deal with the U.S. would be “welcome as British businesses like automotive badly need tariffs reduced.” “Let’s hope there is an all singing, all dancing deal coming to delight British business,” he added.

LONDON — Northern Ireland could suffer collateral damage in U.S. President Donald Trump’s impending trade war with the European Union — thanks to its hybrid status post-Brexit. The EU is firmly within Trump’s sights in his escalating tariff raid, with the president promising retribution for the bloc’s “brutal” trade practices by threatening 25 percent tariffs, claiming the bloc was created to “screw the United States.” In turn, the EU has warned that Trump’s protectionist policies “will not go unanswered.” U.K. ministers, meanwhile, are scrambling for an exemption to fresh tariffs, in the hope that the country’s “balanced” trading relationship with the U.S. could mean Trump takes a softer approach to Britain than its neighbors across the channel. But tariffs from any side could create a fresh Brexit headache for traders in Northern Ireland, which is part of the U.K. but has no hard border with the Republic of Ireland. The prospect has already got unionists hot under the collar, while others spy an investment opportunity.  The biggest issue, according to Joël Reland, a senior researcher at the Brexit think tank UK in a Changing Europe, is if the EU introduces retaliatory tariffs on U.S. imports — something the bloc has insisted it is not afraid to do. “At that point, Northern Ireland would have to levy the EU tariff at its external border,” he said, pointing to complex post-Brexit rules set out in the Windsor Framework agreed between the U.K. and EU to smooth the flow of trade in Northern Ireland.  Reland noted that, under a Duty Reimbursement Scheme set out in the framework, importers in Northern Ireland would technically be able to reclaim the difference between U.K. and EU duties if they can prove that goods will not move on into the EU.  “But I can imagine having to reclaim a tariff is still going to make life more complicated for Northern Irish importers,” he said. ‘BACKDOOR INTO THE SINGLE MARKET’ Esmond Birnie, a senior economist at Ulster University and former Ulster Unionist Party member of the Northern Ireland Assembly, has spied another complication with a possible EU tariff regime. “If, as is likely, the EU retaliates with tariffs on U.S.-origin goods, there would be an EU concern about any American products using Northern Ireland as a backdoor into the Single Market,” he explained. Birnie also fears Northern Ireland stands to lose if the U.S. imposes tariffs on the EU.  Northern Ireland could suffer collateral damage in U.S. President Donald Trump’s impending trade war with the European Union. | Andrew Harnik/Getty Images “The key thing,” Birnie explained, “is [Northern Ireland’s] hybrid status — [it is] still part of the U.K. internal market, but de facto in the EU’s Customs Union. So it is conceivable any U.S. tariffs against EU products could apply to Northern Ireland origin goods,” he explained.  Birnie predicted that Northern Ireland customs and businesses could try to “evade” tariffs by rerouting sales to the U.S. and purchases of U.S. goods through Great Britain.  However, he added, “there would be extra cost in doing so, for example, ferrying good from Belfast to Liverpool and then on to New York.” It could also cause checks at the Irish Sea border to intensify to control for such activity, he fears. But Billy Melo Araujo, a law professor at Queen’s University Belfast, believes this scenario is unlikely. “If the U.S. decides to apply tariffs on the EU, the effect on Northern Ireland should be limited because goods originating from Northern Ireland count as U.K. goods, unless we’re talking about EU goods that were moved into Northern Ireland and then exported to the U.S., or goods assembled in Northern Ireland which contain a lot of EU inputs, such as complex industrial goods.” ‘IDEAL MIDDLE-GROUND LOCATION’ Sam Lowe, a partner and trade expert at Flint Global, warned that Northern Ireland’s hybrid status could also be exploited by Irish exporters hoping to avoid U.S. tariffs.  “Due to the high risk of circumvention, [such as] Irish products being shipped [to the U.S.] via Northern Ireland, I would expect greater scrutiny of Northern Irish exports, particularly if there is a noticeable uptick, and stricter rules of origin enforcement,” he said. But an uptick in goods moving via Northern Ireland is not necessarily such a bad thing, a senior Stormont official, granted anonymity to speak on a sensitive issue, told POLITICO. “The [Northern Ireland] Protocol and Windsor Framework give Northern Ireland a potential trading and investment advantage even in regards to transatlantic tariffs,” the official said.  “The risk of U.S.-EU tariffs might open opportunities for us even as they, inevitably, create new costs and red tape for everybody. We’re well used to that because of the whole Brexit saga. “If it happens again with a new landscape of long-term tariffs, it will probably be a mixed bag for us — hassles and irritants in the global supply chain and unintended consequences, to be sure, but also a chance for Northern Ireland to put itself forward as an ideal middle-ground location for a manufacturer that wants to avoid U.S. tariffs on EU goods and wants to be able to export equally into the EU, the U.S. and the rest of the U.K.” According to the latest trade data from 2023, Northern Ireland goods and services exports outside the U.K. totaled £16.2 billion, of which £1.9 billion was destined for the U.S. market. By contrast, exports from the Republic of Ireland to the U.S. totaled around €58 billion that year. ‘UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES’ Unsurprisingly, not everyone feels the same way in Northern Ireland’s fraught political landscape, with a number of Unionist MPs jumping on the issue in the weeks following Trump’s inauguration. Northern Ireland customs and businesses could try to “evade” tariffs by rerouting sales to the U.S. and purchases of U.S. goods through Great Britain. | Paul Faith/Getty Images Upper Bann MP Carla Lockhart told POLITICO Northern Irish businesses “should not be disadvantaged by barriers that do not apply to firms in Great Britain.” “The government must be alive to unintended consequences that leave our economy at a disadvantage. We need a fair and pragmatic approach that supports jobs, investment, and Northern Ireland’s place within the UK’s internal market,” she said. North Antrim MP and Traditional Unionist Voice leader Jim Allister called for an “ending [of] the current arrangement whereby part of the U.K. has left the EU and part of the U.K. remains in it.” “The government should do so by declaring the Windsor Framework void, on the grounds that it is contrary to the cardinal principle of international law which requires valid treaties to respect for the territorial integrity of sovereign states,” he said. Asked how the U.K. would protect Northern Ireland from tariffs in the House of Lords on Tuesday, Business and Trade Minister Maggie Jones was vague. “We are considering what action will be in the best interests of all U.K. businesses and will make sure the implications for Northern Ireland are considered in those discussions,” she said. This story has been updated.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday that he could impose tariffs on auto imports beginning April 2, a move that would further strain trade relations with North American neighbors, Europe and the rest of the world. Trump made the statement in response to a reporter’s questions about when he could follow through on a previous threat to impose auto duties. “Maybe around April 2,” Trump said during an executive order signing ceremony in the Oval Office. That would be one day after a slew of trade reports on potential tariff actions are due at the White House under an executive order he signed on Inauguration Day. Context: Last year, the United States imported $471 billion worth of auto products. That included $214 billion worth of cars, $192 billion worth of parts and $65 billion worth of trucks, buses and special purpose vehicles. The biggest foreign supplier of cars was Mexico ($49 billion), followed by Japan ($40 billion), South Korea ($37 billion), Canada ($28 billion) and Germany ($25 billion). Mexico, Canada and South Korea currently have duty-free access to the United States for most of their cars, assuming they meet the auto “rules of origin” provisions under the free trade agreements they have with the United States. However, the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement is already in danger of becoming irrelevant because of Trump’s threat to impose a 25 percent tariff on Mexico and Canada due to concerns about border security. The president initially threatened to impose those tariffs earlier this month but paused them until March 12 as government leaders negotiate. On Thursday, Trump signed an executive order that sets the stage for him to impose country-by-country reciprocal tariff rates in the coming weeks or months, based on the an assessment of each country’s tariffs and other trade barriers. Any auto tariffs could potentially be in addition to those reciprocal tariff rates.

LONDON — A U.K. minister has said Britain is not currently seeking to join a pan-European customs agreement as part of the government’s post-Brexit “reset” with the EU. Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook was responding to comments made by Commission Executive Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič that a “pan-European [customs] area is something we could consider” in an interview with the BBC. Šefčovič was referring to the idea of Britain joining the Pan-Euro-Mediterranean Convention (PEM), which establishes common terms for the rules of origin of goods to ease the flow of trade within the 25-member bloc. But when asked about the possibility of Britain joining the scheme on Radio 4’s Today Programme on Thursday during a morning broadcast round, Pennycook said: “We’re not seeking to participate in that particular arrangement. “I think in general the government has been very clear … that we do want a closer relationship with our European partners, both in trading terms but also importantly … in terms of security and defense cooperation, where we need to work far more closely. So absolutely we do want a closer relationship. As for this particular arrangement, no, we are not seeking to participate in it at the present time.” Speaking at Cabinet Office questions in parliament on Thursday morning, Brexit Minister Nick Thomas-Symonds said: “We of course welcome the positive constructive tone from Commissioner Šefčovič. We’re always looking to reduce barriers to trade but within our manifesto red lines, because we take a pragmatic view as to where the national interest lies.” “But we don’t currently have any plans to join PEM,” the minister added. MIXED MESSAGES The comments appear to be at odds with those made by the government’s Trade Policy Minister Douglas Alexander on Tuesday. Quizzed on the possibility of re-joining PEM, Alexander said: “There are some stakeholders who would argue that there would be disadvantages to sectors of U.K. business if we were to rejoin. “However, it is an issue that we are open to looking at, because we want to take a pragmatic view as to where the national interest lies.” Among those strongly in favor of Britain joining the agreement is fellow Labour MP Stella Creasy, who is also chair of the Labour Movement for Europe group. “Red tape from Brexit hits British business in many ways,” she said. “Joining PEM would help cut the paperwork connected to rules of origin requirements which is why we have long argued it should be a priority for the UK as one way to undo the damage to trade leaving the EU has done.”