Number 10 lobby briefing on Donald Trump, Saudi Arabia and doping
3 min read
Here is a summary of this morning's briefing for lobby journalists by the Prime Minister's official spokesman.
DONALD TRUMP
On Donald Trump's announcement that America will impose tariffs on imported steel and aluminium, the spokesman said Mrs May had made clear her "deep concern" about the move in a phone call with the president yesterday.
He said: "We don't know what that announcement fully constitutes yet, so will wait for the details before we have anything further to add.
"Both the Prime Minister and the president have been clear on the importance of reaching a post-Brexit bilateral trade deal. The USA is our biggest trade partner, we invest over £500bn in each other's economies, and over 1 million Americans work for US companies, so you would expect us to remain close partners and continue to work at the highest levels to make the case for UK industry to the US government."
On President Trump's claim that "trade wars are good", the spokesman said: "The UK is a leading advocate for free trade and open markets, for the World Trade Organisations and for a global economy that works for everyone. The UK played a leading role at the G20 global forum in November in securing an agreement on tackling unfair trading practices which harm steel producers. Multi-lateral action is the only way to tackle the problem of global over-supply of steel in all parties' interests."
SAUDI ARABIA
Ahead of a visit to the UK by the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammad bin Salman, the spokesman responded to criticism of the sale of UK weapons to the Saudi regime, and its part in the ongoing war in Yemen.
He said: "This was an issue that was looked at by the courts last year. The UK government takes its arms export licensing responsibilities very seriously and it operates one of the most robust arms export control regimes in the world. All export licence applications are assessed on a case by case basis against the consolidated EU and international arms export licensing criteria, taking account of all relevant factors at the time of the application.
"In relation to Yemen, what you can expect the Prime Minister to do is raise our concerns at the humanitarian situation there. She'll acknowledge the steps taken recently by Saudi Arabia to address the crisis but stress the importance of full and unfettered commercial and humanitarian access, including through the ports."
DOPING
On the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee report into alleged doping by Team Sky, the spokesman said: "We are clear that there's no place for doping in sport. The public should have trust in their sportspeople and have confidence that they are watching them compete on a level playing field. On the specifics of the report, it was an independent inquiry by the DCMS select committee and the Government will respond to it in the usual way. Team Sky has refuted the allegations."
