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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Anna Isaac City editor

UK officials label trade documents ‘secret’ to shield from US eyes amid Trump tariff war

Keir Starmer and Donald Trump leaving the White House in February, flanked by two US servicemen and US and UK flags
Keir Starmer has prioritised striking a trade deal with Washington over retaliating to Trump’s tariffs. Photograph: Simon Dawson/No 10 Downing Street

UK officials are tightening security when handling sensitive trade documents to prevent them from falling into US hands amid Donald Trump’s tariff war, the Guardian can reveal.

In an indication of the strains on the “special relationship”, British civil servants have changed document-handling guidance, adding higher classifications to some trade negotiation documents in order to better shield them from American eyes, sources told the Guardian.

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