LONDON — U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will visit London on Nov. 24 as the U.K. seeks to secure more concessions in its trade talks with Washington, according to three people familiar with the plans. London continues to push for a favorable position on a narrow list of tariff lines — with President Donald Trump’s duties on pharmaceuticals and Scotch whisky among Britain’s top priorities. In a bid to stave off Trump’s 100 percent tariff threats on pharmaceutical imports, the U.K. has proposed increasing the amount the NHS pays for its drugs, as POLITICO first reported in early October. Ministers agreed last week to a two-week extension to the deadline by which pharma firms must tell the government if they intend to leave the NHS’s voluntary drug pricing scheme, signaling that a breakthrough in talks is imminent. Greer’s visit comes just two days before Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ budget, and British officials are eager to finalize the pharma deal ahead of that announcement, said two of the people cited higher. They were granted anonymity to speak freely on a sensitive matter. If Washington accepts the proposal — effectively committing the NHS to higher drug spending — Reeves will face pressure to spell out how much the increase will cost taxpayers. A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “We will always prioritise the needs of NHS patients. Investment in patient access to innovative medicines is critical to our NHS.” “We are now in advanced discussions with the US Administration to secure the best outcome for the UK, reflecting our strong relationship and the opportunities from close partnership with our pharmaceutical industry,” the spokesperson added. TRUMP’S ASKS Washington, meanwhile, is pushing for more. The U.S. administration wants Britain to grant additional concessions benefiting American farming and manufacturing, including a relaxation of product standards.  U.S. officials told The Times earlier this month that the talks risk “going off the rails,” voicing frustration over the pace of progress and delays in receiving documents from their U.K. counterparts. The U.K. has proposed increasing the amount the NHS pays for its drugs. | Leon Neal/Getty Images Negotiators will hold technical-level talks in Washington in mid-November before Greer’s visit. His office did not respond to a request for comment. Meanwhile the European Union has invited U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to Brussels on Nov. 24 — the same date Greer is in London — for talks with the bloc’s trade ministers. The Danish presidency of the Council of the EU, as well as the European Commission, invited the commerce secretary to attend a lunch with ministers dedicated to trade relations between the United States and the EU. It comes as the U.K. is seeking to form an alliance with the European Union and the U.S. to curb China’s dominance of the global steel market. Doug Palmer contributed to this report.

U.S. President Donald Trump has said he wants to “help” Britain get a better trade deal, as he prepares to fly to the U.K. for his second state visit. “Basically, I’m there also on trade,” the president told reporters outside the White House on Tuesday ahead of his flight to London. “They want to see if they can refine the trade deal a little bit. We’ve made a deal, and it’s a great deal. “I’m into helping them. Our country is doing very well … They’d like to see if they could get a little bit better deal, so we’ll talk to them.” Trump’s words will be music to the ears of trade negotiators who hope to use the state visit to charm the president into dropping 25 percent tariffs on steel and aluminum, in line with the deal agreed earlier in May. Negotiators are also pressing the U.S. for preferential treatment on future pharmaceutical tariffs, contingent on the outcome of a U.S. investigation. In addition, the Scottish government has been lobbying hard for reductions to duties on Scotch whisky, which is subject to the blanket 10 percent “reciprocal” tariff applied to most U.K. goods. But Trump, a vocal admirer of the royal family, made clear that his priority was to meet the king and queen. “Primarily it’s to do with Prince Charles and Camilla,” he said. “They’re friends of mine for a long time … It’s an honor to have him as King. I think he represents the country so well … He’s such an elegant gentleman.”

U.K. King Charles III has invited French President Emmanuel Macron for a state visit in May, months before a visit by U.S. President Donald Trump that is expected to take place in September, The Sunday Times reported. The first state visit by the French leader is being planned amid British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s efforts to relaunch relations with the European Union years after Brexit, while the U.K.’s historic American allies drift away and turn looking inward under Trump’s presidency. Macron and Starmer have in recent months led a “coalition of the willing” composed by European countries seeking to agree on security guarantees for Ukraine in case a ceasefire is achieved with Russia. As Macron schmoozes with the king in Windsor Castle, the U.K. and the EU are expected to seal a defense and security pact at a London summit on May 19 to boost military spending across Europe. While defense has served as the first steppingstone in efforts to rebuild EU-U.K. ties, its implications on trade loom large, as the pact could pave the way for further negotiations such as an agri-food standards agreement to reduce trade bureaucracy and EU plans like improved mobility for young people and students. In fact, defense pact is hinging on whether the U.K. will make concessions on fishing rights in English waters for EU fleets. Both sides are expected to use next month’s meeting to reach a common understanding of which issues will be part of Starmer’s wider U.K.-EU relations relaunch. On the other side of the Atlantic, Trump recently suggested he would visit Britain in September, after Starmer extended an invitation by King Charles during his visit to Washington in February. Trump has in recent weeks slapped hefty tariffs on countries around the world, including 10 percent duties for U.K and EU products across the board. The U.S. president hit the pause button on other heavier reciprocal tariffs to give space to negotiate new trade deals.

LONDON — The U.K. is “seeking further clarification” from Washington after U.S. President Donald Trump said he would impose steep tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum in a surprise announcement late Sunday. “Any steel coming into the United States is going to have a 25 percent tariff — aluminum too,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday. Trump did not specify when the tariffs would come into effect but said they would apply to all countries — sending U.K. officials working hard to build bridges with the new administration into fresh disarray. The president also said Sunday that he would impose reciprocal tariffs on trading partners that would match the duties imposed by other countries in the coming days. The announcements contradict Trump’s recent suggestion that the U.K. could be spared from his trade war, which has so far targeted China as well as neighboring Canada and Mexico. A senior British government aide said the administration was now “seeking further clarification” on the measures and will “work closely with the industries affected.” “We’ve got a strong and balanced trade relationship with the U.S.,” they added. Meanwhile, a separate U.K. official said British diplomats were immediately “engaging the U.S. system on steel and aluminum tariffs” last night. Both figures were granted anonymity in order to speak freely. That line was echoed by Home Office Minister Angela Eagle on Monday morning. She told Sky News: “We have a very balanced trading relationship with the U.S., I think £300bn worth of trade between our countries, and I think it’s in the best interests of both of us, as long-standing allies and neighbors, that we carry on with that balanced trade. “We will have to wait and see whether the president gets more specific about what he meant by that comment on the way to the Super Bowl.” RETALIATION RISK About one-tenth of the U.K.’s total steel exports were sent to America in 2024. But for a struggling U.K. steel industry facing long-term decline, these measures are not good news. And on top of that, this may only be the start of more widespread tariffs on different products entering the U.S., which would cause serious global economic disruption.  The decision on reciprocal tariffs, which is expected to come Tuesday or Wednesday, would be a major shift from Trump’s previous threat to impose an across-the-board tariff on all imports from across the world. Starmer and his ministers will be mulling whether to hit back against these tariffs — a move which would plunge the U.K. into a trade war with the U.S. and potentially escalate into other areas of the economy.  SEC Newgate’s Allie Renison, a former U.K. business and trade policy adviser, said retaliating could put the U.K. “even more in the firing line” of further Trump measures. “The prospect of reciprocal universal tariffs that he has recently floated could do much greater overall damage to the British economy,” she said.