Does Donald Trump want the NHS? UK and US potential trade deal explained
Talks to secure a trade deal with the US have taken on a new urgency since Donald Trump slammed 10% tariffs on all imports from the UK.
It seemed an agreement was imminent in February, when the President met Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the White House and complimented his negotiating style.
‘I think we’ll have something, maybe even, in terms of possibilities, agreed to very shortly,’ Trump said at the time.
But as the weeks stretch on without any deal materialising, questions are being asked about what the UK government may be willing to put on the table.
One concern that has been repeatedly raised is the possibility that the US could get control over parts of the NHS.
These fears stretch all the way back to Trump’s first term in office.
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So what is the background? And how likely is it to happen?
Does Trump want the NHS?
In 2019, talks between the first Trump White House and Downing Street under Theresa May were in full swing as the UK sought a big post-Brexit win.
But progress on that hypothetical trade deal were overshadowed by rows over food standards and – particularly – the NHS.
Fears for the health service went into hyperdrive when Trump, at a joint press conference with May, made clear it could be up for discussion.
As the then-PM looked distinctly uncomfortable beside him, the President said: ‘When you’re dealing in trade, everything is on the table, so NHS or anything else.’
This time round, the topic does not appear to be as prominent in discussions around a trade deal, with issues like the UK’s tax on big tech firms a bigger sticking point.
Many people are still keen to make clear their opposition to such a move, though, with one petition on the website 38Degrees gaining around 275,000 signatures.
What has the government said about an NHS deal?
The Labour government has been quick to make clear there will be no talks over the health service as part of the UK’s trade agreement with the US.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting told BBC Breakfast yesterday: ‘The NHS is not for sale and our patients’ data is not for sale.’
In an appearance in front of Parliament’s Liaison Committee later that same day, Keir Starmer made a similar point.
He said: ‘I have been very protective of the approach we take to the NHS in any dealings with any other country because it is our greatest asset, and we are not trading it away.’
After Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds outlined the government’s response to last week’s tariffs, former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn raised the issue in the House of Commons.
The independent MP asked him to ‘assure the House’ that there will be ‘no question of US private healthcare interest coming into Britain to undermine our National Health Service, or indeed take over sections’.
Reynolds responded: ‘There’s been no discussions in relation to the NHS or anything that would concern [Corbyn] in that regard.
‘This is about goods and services and how we recognise each others’ standards, but there’s nothing relating to the health sector that I’ve been able to talk about with US counterparts.’
How are Trump’s tariffs affecting the NHS?
Streeting has also been open about the impact the tariffs already announced by President Trump are having on the UK’s health sector.
He told Sky News the country ‘already had issues with medicines production and supply internationally’ before the US trade war escalated.
The Health Secretary said: ‘There have been challenges in terms of manufacturing, challenges in terms of distribution, and if we start to see tariffs kicking in, that’s another layer of challenge, but we watch this situation extremely closely.”
‘We work on a daily basis to make sure that we have the medicine supply this country needs.’
There are not currently any tariffs on pharmaceuticals, but Trump promised last night he would introduce a ‘major’ one ‘very shortly’.
The sector is the second-largest exporter from the UK to the US last year, and any rises in drug prices resulting from the tariffs would increase costs for the NHS.
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