A trade deal with the US could spell disaster for the UK
4 min read
Britain stands at a crossroads.
As the spectre of Donald Trump’s tariffs looms over British exports, Labour confronts a stark choice: in its mission to secure tariff relief, what is the government willing to surrender? If the price of relief from Trump’s tariffs is abandoning our Digital Services Tax, rolling back environmental protections and handing over control of our most sensitive public data, it simply isn’t worth it. Labour must choose: stand up for British people’s interests, or bow to a bad-faith actor in Washington.
Cutting the Digital Services Tax, introduced in 2020, would be nothing short of scandalous. Introduced to ensure that multinational tech giants contribute their fair share to our public services, this levy channels vital revenue into education and health and social care. To strip it away – in the same breath that disability payments are being slashed for our most vulnerable citizens – would betray the very principles Labour claims to uphold. It would signal that, when confronted with pressure from a bully in the White House, corporate profits matter more than the living standards of British families.
Labour must choose: stand up for British people’s interests, or bow to a bad-faith actor in Washington
And the digital levy is only the opening gambit in what US negotiators have long dubbed their “data-first” strategy. Leaked documents from past talks – and the text of the US-Canada-Mexico agreement – reveal the demand for “open access to government-generated public data”. In practice, that means flinging open the doors to NHS patient records, tax data, and more so that big tech oligarchs can turn public services into private profit centres.
As artificial intelligence surges into every corner of our lives, from welfare assessments to policing algorithms, we urgently need the freedom to regulate robustly. Yet this possible “digital trade deal” could lock in a freeze on the Online Safety Act and bar any future tightening of our digital rules. Worse still, it could forbid governments from disclosing the source code behind life-and-death software – algorithms that decide who gets benefits, who wins asylum, who stays under surveillance. When a hidden line of code spits out a bias-driven decision, how would the government be able to challenge it?
Workers could be hit hard, too. Research has revealed that young people, women and Black workers are disproportionately affected by workplace surveillance technologies, which have become increasingly prevalent post-pandemic. A deal that bans algorithm audits makes that injustice invisible – and could even undo the requirement for big tech corporations to set up a formal presence as a condition of operating in the UK, making it far harder for certain workers’ rights to be legally enforced.
Let’s not forget the environment. Reports from every corner of the climate-science community warn that we cannot afford trade rules that neuter our ability to enforce emissions standards, ban deforestation or curb pollution. If we must choose between appeasing a leader who famously tore up climate accords or defending the clean air, safe water and the stable climate our children deserve, the choice is clear.
No one doubts the harm Trump’s tariffs may inflict – but surrendering our Digital Services Tax, our environmental safeguards and our democratic oversight of data and algorithms isn’t the path to recovery. It’s a surrender that sacrifices our public services, our planet, and our fundamental rights on the altar of an empty promise.
The government’s mission should be to protect and invest in British people: to fund a green industrial transformation that retrofits homes, creates good jobs, and brings essential services back into public hands. If America wants a trade deal, it must respect our rules, not dictate them. Labour must draw a line in the sand: we will not trade away our future for fleeting tariff relief. Our schools, our health service, our environment – and the very notion of democratic accountability – depend on it.
Ellie Chowns is Green MP for North Herefordshire
