But it\u2019s not all doom and gloom, as hopes grow that Britain could avoid tariffs on pharmaceutical products \u2014 which Trump had threatened to impose as soon as the start of August. A U.K. government figure said a deal on pharmaceuticals was \u201cmuch more likely\u201d than immediate progress on steel or the blanket 10 percent reciprocal tariffs. If it comes off it would be a good-news story for the government and the industry, which contributes significantly to U.K. GDP.<\/p>\n
3) The chance to keep the president’s mind on foreign affairs<\/p>\n
The meeting will also be a chance for Starmer to attempt to pull Trump\u2019s focus back to two long-running crises where the U.S. can play a critical role: Ukraine and Gaza. <\/p>\n
Kyiv\u2019s allies were heartened when Trump agreed a plan with NATO\u2019s Mark Rutte at the White House to send more weapons to Ukraine funded by Europeans. However, the president\u2019s boldest promise on this front \u2014 a pledge that \u201cwe will send them Patriots [missiles], which they desperately need\u201d \u2014 appears to be stalled.<\/p>\n
The German government is particularly frustrated that Trump has so far refused to send any of his more than 60 Patriots over, and Berlin\u2019s lobbying has fallen on deaf ears up to this point. A Western official said \u201cit\u2019s all still very much being worked out\u201d but that the U.K. is part of the effort to turn the White House’s commitment into action.<\/p>\n
No.10 said Sunday night that Starmer \u2014 who is under intense pressure at home on the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza \u2014 will raise with Trump “what more can be done to secure the ceasefire urgently, bring an end to the unspeakable suffering and starvation in Gaza and free the hostages who have been held so cruelly for so long.” <\/p>\n
London has been trying to coordinate with Paris and Berlin on its response to the famine-like conditions now facing the people of Gaza, aiming to pile pressure on Israel to allow access to water and food for the civilian population there. But, despite mounting calls in his own party to act,\u00a0<\/strong>Starmer has not followed French President Emmanuel Macron’s vow to recognize the Palestinian state. Trump’s brusque reaction to Macron’s move<\/a> this weekend shows just how delicate the balancing act is that Starmer will need to perform.<\/p>\n The Starmer-Trump meeting meanwhile comes just days after the U.K. defense and foreign secretaries hot-footed it to Australia to demonstrate their steadfast commitment to the AUKUS nuclear-powered submarines deal, a trilateral initiative with the U.S.<\/a> aimed at providing a bulwark against China.<\/p>\n