Reeves and Piesen can see a “landing zone” of a trade agreement in the United Kingdom, says British officials

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On Friday, the UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves held the first official talks with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessin, with finance ministers to agree to the existence of a “landing zone” for a bilateral commercial agreement, according to British officials.

Reeves opened the door for Britain to cut off its tariffs on the imports of the United States, as well as agricultural products and seafood, as it tries to persuade the Trump administration to cut its fees on UK exports.

Bessent is seen within the Starmer government as a relatively preservative personality, but there is recognition that commercial decisions are eventually taken in the oval office. The United States imposed a 10 percent basic tariff on UK exports and imposed 25 percent on cars and steel.

UK officials said Reeves – who did not meet Bessin before her trip to Washington this week – conducted a “good discussion” with her American counterpart.

“Both of them feel a landing zone in a commercial deal, but we have not yet there. The discussion has become more intense, so this is positive. The discussion will continue,” said a person who has been informed of the talks.

The US Treasury did not immediately respond to the request for comment.

Reeves, in Washington to attend the Spring meetings of the World Bank and IMF, was praised by some of the world’s financial elite for its commitment to free trade and reforms by the offer.

“She deals with very difficult issues, gets inflammation of spending, gets the organizational environment to be more rational, then takes the battle to accomplish it. It is really impressive,” said Crystalina Georgiviva, Managing Director of the International Monetary University.

But Reeves is much less popular at home, as opinion polls have shown that her terrible approval classification has decreased in recent weeks.

Yougov said this month that only 14 percent of those surveyed said they had a positive vision of the consultant, with 62 percent of a negative vision. It represents a degree of the lowest loyal classification so far.

This week, Reeves sought to build relationships with the Trump administration by noting that some of her concerns about the global trading system have been established well.

Speaking at an event at the British Embassy in Washington on Thursday evening, Reeves argued that the United States is right to be concerned about excessive trade imbalances – highlighting the “challenges” associated with the Chinese economy in addition to the benefits.

“The challenges that the Donald Trump administration spoke about about global trade imbalances are very real, and we should address them,” she said at an event hosted by the British Ambassador to the United States, Lord Peter Mandleson.

Reeves added that these commercial imbalances were not always linked to “transparent policies”.

However, it stressed in its meetings in Washington that the United Kingdom continued to believe in dialogue and multilateral institutions, not in the customs tariff, with an undesirable focus in commercial wars.