Health Secretary Wes Streeting said the NHS will not be on the table in a UK-US trade deal, while Environment Secretary Steve Reed ruled out chlorinated chicken being permitted
Labour ministers have spelled out their red lines for a trade deal with Donald Trump – with the NHS off the table.
The US President said talks have opened about a “great” trade deal, and said there is a “very good chance” of success. And in a boost to Keir Starmer he also indicated that tariffs – which could wipe billions of pounds from the economy – might be avoidable.
But there are longstanding concerns that Trump could demand access to the NHS for US healthcare companies as part of any deal. Health Secretary Wes Streeting said the NHS “isn’t on the table” following talks between Mr Starmer and the US President.
It comes after Environment Secretary Steve Reed said ministers would not accept chlorinated chicken or hormone-treated beef from the US. He warned this would be a hammer blow to British farmers – and said his position was “absolute”.
On Friday morning Mr Streeting told Radio 4’s Today programme: “We’ve always been clear that the NHS isn’t on the table, but if I think about the ingredients that are key to the NHS’s success, particularly in terms of life sciences and medical technology, there’s a lot that we’ve got to offer the United States and there’s a lot that we could get from the United States given our two countries’ strengths.”
The Labour frontbencher continued: “We’ve got great science, we’ve got a large and diverse patient population that in terms of medical research and clinical trials has a lot to offer the world.”
Pressed on whether that meant data, Mr Streeting said: “Access to our patients and to our National Health Service and its footprint I think is valuable. We’re not in the business of selling off people’s data, but in terms of data access, absolutely the thing that the NHS can offer and the thing that the NHS can get in return is being a really strong partner for clinical trials.
“Providing access to a diverse patient cohort – so in terms of clinical trials – that means we can push the boundaries of our understanding of medical science and research absolutely critical for the development of new treatments and technologies.”
He said that the Government would expect British patients to be “at the front of the queue” for new treatments and technologies and a “good deal” on price.
It came less than 24 hours after Environment Secretary Mr Reed ruled out an agreement forcing Britain to accept chlorinated or hormone-treated meat. Asked by The Mirror whether chlorinated chicken and hormone beef could be on the table, Mr Reed said: “We’ve been really clear before the election and now that we won’t undercut British farmers on welfare or environmental standards. We won’t do that.
“The previous Conservative government did it in the trade deal they negotiated with Australia and it meant there was no longer level playing field. They were importing potentially meat, from Australia produced to standards that would have been illegal here. British farmers can’t compete then.
“I want to be in a position not where we have protectionism, where we have a level playing field because then British farmers will compete and win. That’s that’s an absolute on that one, that will guide future trade deals.”
Following talks with Mr Starmer in Washington, the US President said the two nations have a “very good chance” at arriving at a good deal. He said talks were ongong, adding: “The people are working on it… it could be terrific for both countries”. And he continued: “I think we’ll have two deals – a deal on ending the war and a great trade deal with you.”
The Government is keen to see off the risk of huge tariffs on UK goods. Trump has previously indicated that the UK could face 25% hits on fuel and 21% on other goods.
On Thursday Trump would not say if Mr Starmer had talked him out of slapping tariffs on the UK – but he said: “He tried.” Asked at the press conference if the PM had been successful in preventing him from introducing tariffs on UK trade, Trump prompted laughter as he said: “He tried. He was working hard, I’ll tell you that.
“He earned whatever the hell they pay him over there. But he tried.” Trump went on: “I think there’s a very good chance that in the case of these two great friendly countries we could end up with a real trade deal where the tariffs wouldn’t be necessary. We’ll see.”
