Trump, Starmer to hold talks with five key items on agenda including Ukraine, tariffs

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer faces a delicate diplomatic challenge on Thursday as he visits the White House seeking to avoid major differences with US President Donald Trump on several contentious issues.

His trip follows closely after French President Emmanuel Macron visited Washington on Monday, during which Macron said that he saw “a path forward” after discussions with Trump.

Here are some key topics that are likely to be on the agenda during their first bilateral meeting since Trump’s return to the White House:

Starmer seeks to bridge US-Europe divide on Ukraine

The ongoing US-Russia talks to end the war in Ukraine—conducted without European involvement—are expected to be a central issue in the Oval Office discussions.

Keir Starmer wants to position himself as a “bridge” between Europe and the United States, seeking to ensure that any peace agreement includes territorial and security guarantees for Ukraine.

This will require Starmer to carefully balance support for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky while avoiding friction with Donald Trump, who has frequently clashed with Ukraine’s leader.

Starmer is also expected to push for a US “backstop,” likely in the form of air support, for any European “reassurance force” deployed to monitor a potential truce. He hopes that his proposal to send UK troops to Ukraine will help win Trump’s approval.

Chagos Islands deal

Starmer will try to persuade Trump to sign off on the British government’s decision to return the Chagos Islands to Mauritius and pay its former colony to access a key US-UK military base.

Starmer insists that international legal rulings have put Britain’s ownership of the archipelago in doubt and only an agreement with Mauritius can guarantee continued use of the US base on Diego Garcia island.

But before entering office, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the deal posed a “serious threat”, arguing it gives the islands to a country allied with China.

The base is leased to the US and is one of its key Asia-Pacific military facilities, with Washington using it as a hub for long-range bombers and ships.

Britain and Mauritius have agreed that Trump’s administration will have a say on the final terms of the agreement.

Approval would allow Starmer to move on from a subject that has caused him considerable flak domestically.

Trump’s 25 percent tariffs on steel, aluminium imports

Starmer will try to convince Trump that his planned 25 percent tariffs on steel and aluminium imports due to take effect next month would damage America as well as Britain.

Britain exports about 10 percent of its steel to the United States, shipping nearly £400 million ($495 million) worth there in 2023.

British Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said this month that Britain sends to America “very specialised, relatively niche products that the US needs.”

The tariffs “would be negative for ourselves, it would be negative for the US as well,” he told the BBC.

US-UK talks on a free-trade agreement

Starmer is looking to kickstart stalled US-UK talks on a free-trade agreement.

The United States is the UK’s largest bilateral trading partner and largest export market outside of the European Union.

But free trade discussions, touted by Brexiteers as a major benefit of leaving the EU, stalled in 2021.

The previous Conservative government pursued several smaller agreements with individual US states.

A trade deal would massively help Starmer in his mission to spur UK economic growth.

Gaza’s reconstruction

Starmer’s position on the war-ravaged Gaza Strip is at odds with Trump’s.

The US president has suggested that the United States could take over the Palestinian territory and make it “the Riviera of the Middle East”.

His proposal would see Gazans resettled in other countries.

But Starmer has insisted that Palestinians “must be allowed home” and “we should be with them in that rebuild on the way to a two-state solution”.