U.S. Vice President JD Vance has expressed optimism about a potential trade agreement between the United States and the United Kingdom, calling the chances “pretty good” in an interview with UnHerd. He emphasized that the global trade turbulence triggered by the U.S. is beginning to ease.

According to Vance, the Biden administration is working closely with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government to finalize a deal, despite President Donald Trump’s recent move to impose sweeping tariffs on most trading partners — including the UK, France, and other major economies. The new trade policy includes a flat 10% tariff on all imports from these countries.

In the same interview, Vance highlighted Trump’s admiration for King Charles and spoke of the strong “cultural affinity” between the U.S. and the UK, underlining the historic ties that bind the two nations.

However, Vance didn’t hold back when it came to criticizing Europe. He warned that the lack of defense spending among many European nations — with the exception of the UK, Poland, and France — risks turning them into “vassals of American security.” This, he said, is a growing concern for the continent’s long-term stability.

Defending the administration’s trade strategy, Vance argued that the goal is fairness — but acknowledged that to succeed, U.S. officials must also listen to the concerns and input of the business community.

Image:
Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons