UK Business Secretary Talks Trade Relationship with EU, US

Summary

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Bloomberg Talks: UK Business Secretary on Trade, EU Relations & London’s Future

Episode Date: January 22, 2026
Host: Bloomberg Radio
Guest: Peter Kyle (UK Business and Trade Secretary)

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Episode Overview

This episode features an in-depth interview with Peter Kyle, the UK’s Business and Trade Secretary, live from Davos. The discussion centers around the stability and future of the UK’s trade relationships with the United States and the European Union, the impact of recent diplomatic tensions, and the UK's economic competitiveness. Kyle also rebuts critiques from political opponents about London’s business environment.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Status of UK-US Trade Relationship

[01:17 – 04:09]

• US Tariff Threats: The episode opens with concerns over possible extra US tariffs on the UK and European economies, recently withdrawn following an agreement regarding Greenland.
• Kyle’s Take on Diplomacy:
  • Kyle asserts confidence in recent UK and EU diplomacy to avert tariff threats and refocus NATO security.

    “That was cool, calm, energetic diplomacy... We got to where we needed to be. Now... we can focus on that and also get back to that key business of talking about trade and improving trade between America, Britain and Europe.”
    — Peter Kyle, 01:44

• On ‘Glitches’ in UK-US Trade Deal:
  • Progress is ongoing despite concerns; several key wins have recently been secured.

    “Since the talk of a glitch or a pause started to emerge, we have secured a deal on beef, for example. So Britain has access to the beef quota for the US from the 1st of January. That saved £66,000 in tariff fees.”
    — Peter Kyle, 02:36

  • The pharmaceutical deal and a major trade agreement with the US have created substantial opportunities—$300 billion in commercial potential.
• Trust & Special Relationship:
  • Despite earlier negative signals from the US (tariffs, tone from US Treasury), Kyle emphasizes the depth of collaboration and mutual benefit between the UK and US in cutting-edge sectors:

    “The key thing that's underpinning the... special relationship... is... very strong personal relationships... if it were a Venn diagram, the bit that's in the middle there is really quite considerable.”
    — Peter Kyle, 04:09

  • Areas of cooperation include quantum, AI, fusion, space, climate and health tech.

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2. UK-EU Trade Dialogue and Customs Union Speculation

[05:37 – 08:47]

• Customs Union Debate Clarified:
  • Addressing speculation, Kyle states the government’s focus is immediate economic growth—not rejoining the Customs Union.

    “It is not my intention that we join the Customs Union. My focus is absolutely on short term immediate growth.”
    — Peter Kyle, 05:54

• Review of UK-EU Trade Agreement:
  • The UK is not open to joining the Customs Union but seeks to improve existing trade measures—particularly those that can enhance growth in the short-term.

    “It took Turkey 20 years to join the customs union. It took four years for the UK to leave the Customs Union. And we need to focus on improving measures in the immediate term.”
    — Peter Kyle, 07:14

• Practical Steps for Growth:
  • Kyle highlights ongoing regulatory efficiencies (£230 million delivered in a few months), the creation of a Global Talent Task Force (with new visa pathways), and a £4 billion scale-up fund for business.
  • The UK is seeking shared wins with the EU, especially regarding smoother goods and service flows (notably, Sanitary and Phytosanitary—SPS—agreements).

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3. London’s Reputation and Political Counter-Narratives

[08:47 – 11:21]

• Response to Criticism (Nigel Farage):
  • Kyle rebuffs claims by Nigel Farage that London is unsafe and business is at risk.

    “Nigel Farage never misses the opportunity to go and do down Britain. The fact is that London has one of the lowest crime rates of any comparable city in the world. It is an extraordinarily safe city...”
    — Peter Kyle, 09:03

  • He touts London’s financial outperformance and continued government investment.

    “The London Stock Exchange is outperforming Wall Street by 20%. Just had the best year it's ever had on history, hit record highs.”

• Impact of Political Opponents:
  • Kyle says these narratives do not make his job harder, instead highlighting a distinction between “stability” provided by the government and “instability” associated with his critics.

    “Business craves stability. Nigel Farage, he lives and breathes instability and chaos... what he never does is stick around long enough to actually sort out the mess that he causes wherever he goes.”
    — Peter Kyle, 10:24

  • The government is focused on delivering a 10-year industrial strategy, providing unique stability in global markets.

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Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• On Diplomacy with the US:

  “The resolve of the Prime Minister was clear and evident... we got to where we needed to be.”
  — Peter Kyle, 01:44

• On Progress Post-Deal:

  “That huge gargantuan deal... created $300 billion worth of commercial potential between our two nations.”
  — Peter Kyle, 03:51

• On Customs Union:

  “It is not my intention that we join the Customs Union. My focus is absolutely on short term immediate growth.”
  — Peter Kyle, 05:54

• On Political Critique:

  “Nigel Farage... never misses the opportunity to go and do down Britain... London has one of the lowest crime rates of any comparable city in the world.”
  — Peter Kyle, 09:03

• On Government vs. Chaos:

  “We have a governing party that is governing Britain with a industrial strategy that sets policy for 10 years into the future. 10 year stability in a world which really has a lot of instability in it shows just how attractive Britain is now...”
  — Peter Kyle, 10:24

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Key Segments & Timestamps

• US-UK Tariff Situation & Diplomatic Response: 01:17–02:28
• Implementation & Wins in UK-US Trade: 02:28–03:51
• Trust Issues & Ongoing Collaboration: 03:51–05:37
• Customs Union & UK-EU Trade Priorities: 05:37–08:47
• Defending London as a Business Destination: 08:47–10:18
• Political Stability vs. Opposition Narratives: 10:18–11:21

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Tone and Style

Peter Kyle remains optimistic, pragmatic, and assertive about the UK’s international relationships and economic prospects, blending technocratic detail with spirited rebuttals of critics. The interview is forward-looking, policy-heavy, and keen to distinguish government stability from political noise.

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This summary encapsulates the key threads of the episode, with direct quotes and structure for easy navigation and understanding—valuable for both policymakers and the business community.

Transcript

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[Bloomberg Radio Host]

Of extra US tariffs on the UK and other leading European economies has receded for now after President Trump said the framework of a future deal around Greenland had been reached. But the incident has cast out on the stability of the UK US trade deal. Joining us now live from Davos is the UK's business and trade Secretary, Peter Kyle. Good morning. Thank you for joining us on Bloomberg Radio. So Donald Trump has pulled back on this threat of additional tariffs for now, but are you confident that this threat won't return?

[Peter Kyle]

Well, I'm confident that what we've seen the last couple of weeks from the UK and our European partners works. That was cool, calm, energetic diplomacy. The resolve of the Prime Minister was clear and evident for everyone to see and we got to where we needed to be. Now where is that? Where do we need to be? We need to be focusing on the security of our northern flank for NATO. We can now focus on that and we can reassure America and work with America as key partners to make sure that that part of the world is safe and secure. Of course, it's always been a priority for us and it's very good. Now we can focus on that and also get back to that key business of talking about trade and improving trade between America, Britain and Europe.

[Bloomberg Radio Interviewer]

Now Scott Bessant talked about some glitches in the UK US trade deal. What are they and are we doing anything about them?

[Peter Kyle]

Well, we're always moving forward. I mean, as you know in Bloomberg and your, your listeners and viewers will always know best when you do a deal. Of course, implementing the deal takes a bit of time and there's always some bits that are trickier than others. But I've always found quite curious when I do interviews, and this is put to me because when you look at the world through my eyes, what you see is constant progress. So since the talk of a glitch or a pause started to emerge, we have secured a deal on beef, for example. So Britain has access to the beef quota for the US from the 1st of January. That's meant in one single shipment, which is on the way to America. Now, that saved £66,000 in tariff fees. That's an enormous advantage, I would argue, for America and for Britain. Of course, the pharmaceutical deal landed just before Christmas, so you see a lot of steady progress. That huge gargantuan deal that was struck during President Trump's state visit to Britain in the autumn of last year has created $300 billion worth of commercial potential between our two nations. So these are not insubstantial, these are really consequential deals and they're available for businesses to start using now.

[Bloomberg Radio Host]

But has I note your optimism. But if we juxtapose that with the negative tone that we had from the US Treasury Secretary and the threat of tariffs now withdrawn over Greenland, has trust in the UK US deal been damaged by this?

[Peter Kyle]

Well, it's quite good that this talk has emerged over the Davos period. I've been here at Davos for a couple of days. I've met with many, many people from the US administration, some of them planned, some of them you bump into and you go to one side and have really free, frank conversations. The key thing that's underpinning the relationship between the special relationship between the UK and the US right now is we do have very strong personal relationships which are forged through listening, learning from each other about the priorities our two nations and we have as two administrations. But even though the difference is US being a centre left party in the UK and the administration in the US being a Republican Conservative administration, if it were a Venn diagram, the bit that's in the middle there is really quite considerable and we have managed to really focus on where the mutual advantage is diplomatically, economically, in terms of security and defence. So that special relationship has been reformed a lot around looking at where the high growth sectors in the world are at the moment. Quantum AI fusion, space, climate technology, health technology and particularly AI and we have come together around these areas. These are areas the US Leads on. But Britain has real pointed expertise and potential. And us working together as a partnership is a partnership that adds up to more than the sum of its parts. And that is recognized by both sides.

[Bloomberg Radio Interviewer]

Now on relations with the European Union. Yesterday you said it would be crazy not to engage with the prospect of a Customs union. The Labour manifesto said there would be no return to the single market or the Customs Union. Is there now a debate inside the government about rejoining the Customs Union?

[Peter Kyle]

Well, the point I made yesterday was the debate is good and the fact is that the Customs Union exists. The question that was put to me then was, is it okay that people in the Labour Party talk about the Customs Union now the Customs Union exists, but of course, I am very clear about this. It is not my intention that we join the Customs Union. My focus is absolutely on short term immediate growth. And in the UK we have invested an enormous amount into medium to long term growth measures. We're building 1.5 million homes, we're expanding four airports with new runways in the UK, four new reservoirs, 42 billion pounds worth of investment into rail in the next decade in the north of England. All of these things are highly consequential when it comes to growth into the medium to long term. My focus is on what it would take to get growth and to the economy in the next, in the, in the near term, in the immediate term, what will move the needle in this, this year. So the Customs Union is not on my radar or this government's radar for that.

[Bloomberg Radio Host]

But nonetheless, there is a review of the existing trade agreement with the EU that's happening this year. What are the key priorities for the UK and are you signaling with, engaging with this conversation about the Customs Union that you're open to big changes to that relationship?

[Peter Kyle]

No, we're not open to joining the Customs Union. And as I've said, It took Turkey 20 years to join the customs union. It took four years for the UK to leave the Customs Union. And we need to focus on improving measures in the immediate term. There is a lot of challenge with growth. I mean, you will be very familiar and your listeners and viewers will be very familiar with the Draghi report. Of course, that was focusing on EU member economies, but a lot of relevance also for the United Kingdom. Now, we in the United Kingdom are moving incredibly fast. And I think I am using all of the powers that I have. For example, I've Already, in the three or four months I've been in this job delivered £230 million worth of in year regulatory efficiencies. I set up the Global Talent Task Force which is out there looking for global talent, bringing it to the UK with a global talent visa, which my department is able to issue. I've got £4 billion which I'm focusing on scale up, taking the largest ever equity investment into businesses in the uk, you know, partnering with funds. These are the things that I'm doing immediately and I want to partner with the, with the EU to find out where there is mutual areas for forward growth, which is win, win now, I think improving the cross flow of goods and services into the eu. There are areas and specific areas such as SPS and others where we've already had a headline agreement that we now to get on into the weeds of and implement. These would be a tremendous win for the EU and the UK because both territories have a growth challenge.

[Bloomberg Radio Interviewer]

So you're in Davos, pitching the UK as a business and investment destination. Nigel Farage is also there and he recently said that London was in the grip of a crime wave. So are your political opponents undermining London's reputation as a place to do business?

[Peter Kyle]

Well, Nigel Farage never misses the opportunity to go and do down Britain. The fact is that London has one of the lowest crime rates of any comparable city in the world. It is an extraordinarily safe city for whom violent crime has been falling year upon year for well over a decade. These are tremendous circumstances to come to Britain and do business. And when you come to a safe city like London, you can explore all of the opportunities you have for commercial gain there. Because you will be in a place where the London Stock Exchange is outperforming Wall street by 20%. Just had the best year it's ever had on history, hit record highs. You have a government that's investing 4 billion into scale ups and partnering with venture capital firms to make sure that all the capital is there for those businesses who want to scale up. We're doing enormous great things when it comes to the British economy and it is doing incredibly well and moving in the right direction, which is why business confidence is doing so well. According to PwC, we are still the second best place to do business in the world. So those are the things that Nigel Farage should be using his platform to sell Britain on. But of course he never takes that advantage to sell Britain, but he always just does us down.

[Bloomberg Radio Host]

Is he making your job harder while you're there by presenting an alternative narrative?

[Peter Kyle]

No, he's not. What he's doing is showing the difference between a government that delivers the stability that the businesses tell us. And then of course, that survey that you were talking about earlier in the program illustrates this. Business craves stability. Nigel Farage, he lives and breathes instability and chaos. He's delivered it all the way through his career and when it was in the EU and now in the British Parliament. And of course it is campaigning, but what he never does is stick around long enough to actually sort out the mess that he causes wherever he goes. So what he's done is drawn yet again attention to the fact that he represents chaos. Whereas we have a governing party that is governing Britain with a industrial strategy that sets policy for 10 years into the future. 10 year stability in a world which really has a lot of instability in it shows just how attractive Britain is now for a place to come, to build, to scale and to stay. When you're doing business these days, it.

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