President Trump says he predicts a huge increase in trade between the US and the UK. The president also added that the two countries were “joined at the hip” when it comes to military matters. Trump said this after meeting UK Prime Minister Theresa May at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Trump also rejected rumors that there were tensions between him and the UK Prime Minister saying that the two liked each other a lot. A statement from Downing Street also joined in this cordial engagement noting that officials had been asked to expedite plans for a visit by Trump to the UK later in 2018. The US president was scheduled to visit the UK last year but the trip was canceled due to London’s criticism of the US decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
Many issues were discussed in the Davos meeting but it is emerging that post-Brexit trade negotiations were high on the agenda. Trump said that one thing that will change over the years in relations between the two countries is trade. The US president said that he was committed to ensuring that trade volume between the countries will be increased moving forward.
Trump also reaffirmed the military ties between the two countries saying that they faced the same threats and would stand “shoulder to shoulder” in fighting them. Theresa May, on the other hand, welcomed the talks adding that the “special relationship” between the two countries has never been stronger. May also noted that she was ready to work towards improved trade relations between the two countries in order to benefit citizens of both.
May told Trump that it was great to meet him and looked forward to other such engagements in the near future. On the planned state visit to the UK, May said that the two leaders would talk about it and see how it can be actualized. Downing Street later confirmed that they were proposing a working visit as opposed to a state visit later this year.
The UK prime minister also addressed the World Economic Forum earlier and focused a lot on the growing threat of terror. May urged countries to put pressure on tech companies around the world to counter the growing number of extremist content online.
She also talked about Uber saying that the company had actually gotten things wrong along the way. May said that technology should be used in a way that allows benefits for workers and customers at the same time. She also reiterated the need to consider workers’ rights and safety in ride-hailing company’s operations.
May asked for changes in employment laws in order to keep pace with the disruptive force of technology in many traditional industries. A meeting between the UK prime minister and Trump is a great sign that UK-US relations are still good. The two leaders showed enough resolve to build on this cordial meeting and engage more on a wide range of issues in the future.
