UK’s Reeves says confident UK-US economic deal will hold

Jan 21 (Reuters) – British finance minister Rachel Reeves said on Wednesday she was confident that the economic deal signed with the United States last year will stay intact, despite escalating tensions between President Donald Trump and Europe over Greenland.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Reeves cited remarks from U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick that there was no reason why trade deals should be undone, adding that she had seen him on Tuesday.

“I’m confident that our diplomacy, the work that we are doing will mean that we can stick with that deal that we secured with the U.S. last year,” Reeves told Channel 4 News.

The United States and Britain announced a deal last year to lower tariffs on some goods, with U.S. levies on cars and steel being cut and both sides gaining better access to agriculture markets.

Trump has said he will next month impose an additional 10% tariff on European countries, including the United Kingdom, for their opposition to his plans to annex Greenland, a territory of Denmark.

Asked if United Kingdom could ever retaliate in kind, Reeves said it was in Britain’s interest to reduce trade barriers.

“We will work always with our businesses and in the interests of working people in Britain to bring barriers down, not to up the rhetoric to get a cheap headline,” Reeves said.

She added that the issue of Greenland would be resolved through diplomacy rather than antagonism, and Britain would be a key player.

(Reporting by Andy Bruce; editing by Suban Abdulla)