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The United Kingdom stimulates its defense expenses to do its part to strengthen European security and work with the United States to negotiate a new trade agreement between the two long-standing allies.
The British Chancellor of the chessboard Rachel Reeves told Fox Business that the British government’s plan to increase defense spending is part of the efforts to stimulate the economy and the country’s reindustive areas that have been left.
“A strong defense and a strong economy go hand in hand, I really believe that, and it is the industrial policy that we pursue as government,” said Reeves. “In the United Kingdom, we have made the greatest sustained increase in defense spending since the end of the Cold War for the moment.”
The British government’s plan will see an additional 2.2 billion in defense spent in 2025-2026, defense of percentage of the gross domestic product (GDP) going to 2.5% by 2025. This figure would increase to 3% in the following parliament, according to the government plan. In 2024, the United Kingdom spent approximately 2.33% of GDP for defense, according to NATO data.
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The British chancellor of chessboard Rachel Reeves told Fox Business that she saw an opportunity for a trade agreement between Great Britain and the United States (Shannon Finney / Getty Images for SEMAFOR / GETTY images)
Reeves added that with the aim of obtaining more value for the UK’s defense expenses, the government “uses a proportion of our defense budget to invest in new innovative solutions, especially technology based to better equip our armed forces”. She added that the United Kingdom encourages other European countries to follow the plunge by intensifying their own defense expenses.
“It is absolutely essential that countries across Europe increase their defense spending and do more to ensure the security of the continent of Europe in the face of an increasing assault in Russia, and this is what many countries across Europe are currently doing,” said Reeves. “Great Britain takes up this challenge, we are not passive in the face of change that we are confronted. We invent, spend more in defense and use this money to revitalize, reindustrialize parts of Great Britain that have been left for too long.”
Last year, NATO data showed that 23 of the 32 member countries, including the two new members of the Alliance, Finland and Sweden, respected the 2%defense expenditure commitment. It is the largest number of NATO members who meet or have exceeded this threshold since its creation in 2014. NATO will publish new data on the subject before the annual summit, which is scheduled for late June.
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The British aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth arrives in New York for a port visit in 2018. (Christopher Furlong / Getty Images / Getty Images)
Reeves meets various officials of the Trump administration during this week, notably the secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, with the aim of negotiating a new trade agreement between the two countries following the taxation of President Donald Trump’s prices on business partners, including the United Kingdom
The United States and the United Kingdom began discussions on a trade agreement in May 2020-months after Great Britain left the European Union-during Trump’s first mandate, although an agreement did not materialize at the time or during the administration of former President Joe Biden.
“A trade agreement has been expected for a long time,” said Reeves. “There is no closer partnership than that between the United Kingdom and the United States, but we recognize and understand the concerns of the United States absolutely with countries that lead persistent trade surpluses with the United States, the United Kingdom is not one of these countries.”
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Jaguar Land Rover, a British car manufacturer, has taken an expedition break in the United States on President Trump’s prices. (Reuters / Reuters photos)
She noted that a significant number of American and British citizens are working for companies whose headquarters are in the opposite country, leading to close economic ties which, according to the Chancellor, will help promote a trade agreement.
“A million British work for American companies and are very proud to do so, and a million Americans work for British companies, so our savings are very closely linked, which is why I believe that there is an agreement to reduce trade barriers in both directions between our countries in a way that is good for jobs, good for industry and, namely good for consumers.”
“We continue to progress in this area. We are not going to rush into an agreement. Of course, as a British government, we will only sign an agreement if it is in the national interest of our country to do so,” she said. “But I think that an agreement is there to be concluded.”
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The Chancellor added that in addition to treating prices and other commercial obstacles, she sees an opportunity for a narrower technological partnership between the two countries.
“There is already a very close defense and security partnership between the United Kingdom and the United States-let’s move on to the next stage,” said Reeves. “The scientific company in our two countries is absolutely immense, and therefore see how we can create a technological partnership on the same basis as we have a security and defense partnership.”
