The ‘tricky balancing act’ facing Starmer over US trade deal – and the real challenge to come
If you want a very visual representation of the challenges of transatlantic diplomacy in 2025, look no further than Oslo City Hall.
Its marbled mural-clad walls played home to a European military summit on Friday.
In December – as it does every year – it will host the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony. It’s an award Donald Trump has said he deserves to win.
But while the leaders gathering in the Norwegian capital may not say it publicly, they all have a very different perspective to the US president on how to win the peace – particularly when it comes to Ukraine.
Sir Keir Starmer at a summit in Oslo. Pic: PA
So far, Sir Keir Starmer has managed to paper over these foreign policy gaps between the US and Europe with warm words and niceties.
But squaring the two sides off on trade may be more difficult.
The US-UK deal announced on Thursday contained no obvious red flags that could scupper deeper trade links with the EU.
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PM defends UK-US trade deal
However, that’s in part because it was more a reaction and remedy to Mr Trump’s tariff regime than a proactive attempt to meld the two countries together.
Laced with party-political venom, yes, but the Tory leader Kemi Badenoch is getting at something when she says this agreement is “not even a trade deal, it’s a tariff deal and we are in a worse position now than we were six weeks ago”.
There may be more to come though.
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How good is the UK-US deal?
The government will talk up the possible benefits, but there are risks too.
Take the Digital Services Tax – much hated by the Trump White House as an unfair levy on US tech firms.
Despite the apparent pitch-rolling from the government, that was left untouched this week.
But asked to rule out changes in the future, the prime minister was non-committal, simply saying the current deal “doesn’t cover that”.
Read more:
Key details of UK-US trade deal
Not the broad trade deal of Brexiteer dreams – analysis
For trade expert David Henig, the potential flashpoints in the transatlantic Venn diagram Downing Street is trying to draw around food standards, digital regulation and services.
“It is a tricky balancing act, at this stage it looks like the UK will go more with the EU on goods regulations, but perhaps a little bit more with the US on services regulations,” he said.
For veterans of the post-2016 Brexit battles, this may all sound like Labour embracing the Boris Johnson-era mantra of “cakeism” – or trying to have it both ways.
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It’s ironic indeed, given Sir Keir is a politician who supported the Remain campaign and then called for a second referendum.
But what matters now is what works – not for Downing Street but for the swathes of voters who have abandoned Labour since they took office.
That’s why the prime minister was once again trying to humanise this week’s trade deals.
These are agreements, he said, that would be measured in the “many thousands of jobs” they would safeguard across the country.
That’s the real challenge now, taking the work done in the marbled halls of the world’s capitals and convincing people at home why it matters to them.
Politics
European leaders to meet in Ukraine for ‘coalition of the willing’ talks – and issue call to Russia
Sir Keir Starmer will join other European leaders in Kyiv on Saturday for talks on the “coalition of the willing”.
The prime minister is attending the event alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, recently-elected German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
It will be the first time the leaders of the four countries will travel to Ukraine at the same time – on board a train to Kyiv – with their meeting hosted by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Follow latest updates on the Ukraine war
Sir Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz travelling in the saloon car of a special train to Kiev. Pic: Reuters
Military officers from around 30 countries have been involved in drawing up plans for the coalition, which would provide a peacekeeping force in the event of a ceasefire being agreed between Russia and Ukraine.
Ahead of the meeting on Saturday, Sir Keir, Mr Macron, Mr Tusk and Mr Merz released a joint statement voicing support for Ukraine and calling on Russia to agree to a 30-day ceasefire.
Sir Keir and Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a meeting in March. Pic: AP
“We reiterate our backing for President Trump’s calls for a peace deal and call on Russia to stop obstructing efforts to secure an enduring peace,” they said.
“Alongside the US, we call on Russia to agree a full and unconditional 30-day ceasefire to create the space for talks on a just and lasting peace.”
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Putin’s Victory Day parade explained
The leaders said they were “ready to support peace talks as soon as possible”.
But they warned that they would continue to “ratchet up pressure on Russia’s war machine” until Moscow agrees to a lasting ceasefire.
“We are clear the bloodshed must end, Russia must stop its illegal invasion, and Ukraine must be able to prosper as a safe, secure and sovereign nation within its internationally recognised borders for generations to come,” their statement added.
“We will continue to increase our support for Ukraine.”
Read more:
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Michael Clarke Q&A on Ukraine war
Ukraine and Russia accuse each other of breaching ceasefire
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The European leaders are set to visit the Maidan, a central square in Ukraine’s capital where flags represent those who died in the war.
They are also expected to host a virtual meeting for other leaders in the “coalition of the willing” to update them on progress towards a peacekeeping force.
This force “would help regenerate Ukraine’s armed forces after any peace deal and strengthen confidence in any future peace”, according to Number 10.
A group of Democratic senators has reportedly sent a letter to leadership at the US Department of Justice and the Treasury Department expressing concerns about US President Donald Trump’s ties to cryptocurrency exchange Binance and potential conflicts of interest in regulating the industry.
According to a May 9 Bloomberg report, Democratic senators asked Attorney General Pam Bondi and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to report on the steps Binance had taken as part of its November 2023 plea agreement with US authorities, amid reports that Trump and his family had deepened connections with the exchange.
That settlement saw Binance pay more than $4 billion as part of a deal with the Justice Department, Treasury, and Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and had then-CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao step down.
However, since Trump won the presidency in 2024, many lawmakers have accused the president of corruption from profiting off crypto while being in a position to influence laws and regulations over the industry.
Trump has launched his own memecoin — which earns the project millions of dollars in transaction fees — and offered the top tokenholders the opportunity to attend an exclusive dinner in Washington, DC. His family-backed crypto venture World Liberty Financial also recently announced that an Abu Dhabi-based investment firm, MGX, would settle a $2 billion investment in Binance using the platform’s USD1 stablecoin.
“Our concerns about Binance’s compliance obligations are even more pressing given recent reports that the company is using the Trump family’s stablecoin to partner with foreign investment companies,” the senators said in the letter, according to Bloomberg.
Related: Trump tricked into pushing XRP for crypto reserve: Report
Stablecoin bill fails to pass the US Senate
The letter came less than 24 hours after some of the same senators blocked a crucial vote on a bill to regulate stablecoins, named the GENIUS Act. Senator Elizabeth Warren, who reportedly signed the letter and opposed moving forward on the stablecoin bill, suggested the Senate should not be aligned with “facilitat[ing] this kind of corruption” from Trump.
Bessent said the Senate “missed an opportunity” by not passing the stablecoin bill, but did not directly address any of the concerns over Trump’s crypto interests. It’s unclear if or when the chamber could consider another vote on the bill.
In an April 23 report, the nonpartisan organization State Democracy Defenders Action said roughly 40% of Trump’s net worth was tied to crypto. The group noted that the GENIUS Act, in its current version, “would not prevent President Trump from using his executive powers to establish a regulatory environment and enforcement agenda that prioritizes his personal enrichment over the broader interests of US stakeholders.”
Amid the concerns with the stablecoin and proposed market structure bills, Zhao reportedly applied for a federal pardon from Trump. Though the former CEO already served four months in prison, a pardon for his felony charge could allow him to get more involved with the crypto industry through a management position.
Magazine: Trump’s crypto ventures raise conflict of interest, insider trading questions
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