Ministers and senior MPs have warned that the UK’s agreements with Donald Trump are “built on sand” after the Guardian established that the deal to avoid drug tariffs has no underlying text beyond limited headline terms.
The “milestone” US-UK deal announced this month on pharmaceuticals, which will mean the NHS pays more for medicines in exchange for a promise of zero tariffs on the industry, still lacks a legal footing beyond top lines contained in two government press releases.
The health department said that negotiators were now thrashing out the detailed agreement on the pharmaceutical deal. Asked to provide the headline terms, the department shared its press release hailing the “landmark UK-US pharmaceuticals deal” and a link to the equivalent US government announcement of an “agreement in principle” on pharmaceutical pricing.
Critics have noted that the two releases describe the deal in sharply different terms. The British release describes the UK as “the only country in the world to secure a 0% tariff on pharmaceuticals to the US”, while the American one largely focuses on how the NHS will have to pay 25% more for new medicines.
gravitas_deficiency @sh.itjust.works - 20hr
I mean… yeah. Any agreement that he’s ever made is built on sand. It’s kind of his whole thing. He’s a con artist. Also a narcissistic psychopath.
18
StinkyFingerItchyBum - 18hr
With no courts, no congress and no rule of law, there are no deals possible with Americans. They can't be trusted and you have no recourse.
Better to just not deal with them at all.
7
tuff_wizard @aussie.zone - 17hr
MPs shown to have no idea how building works as sand is regularly used in foundations due to its predicable compression profile and because it doesn't change volume when wet.
7
xploit @lemmy.world - 18hr
More like hot air, and you can't tell which end it came out as the smell is indistinguishable
6
Arancello @aussie.zone - 18hr
With trump, its only a deal til trump says it isnt. Look at the Canada/ Mexico/states deal. Trump negyit, then decided he didn’t like it so annulled it.
4
phutatorius @lemmy.zip - 8hr
Yeah, Trump's word isn't worth a monkey's fruity fart. Anyone who makes plans believing he's anything but a backstabbing liar will get fucked over. Maybe, for diplomatic reasons, you have to pretend, but don't commit to anything beyond that.
HellsBelle in world @lemmy.world
MPs warn that UK agreements with Donald Trump are ‘built on sand’
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/dec/17/mps-warn-that-uk-agreements-with-donald-trump-are-built-on-sandMinisters and senior MPs have warned that the UK’s agreements with Donald Trump are “built on sand” after the Guardian established that the deal to avoid drug tariffs has no underlying text beyond limited headline terms.
The “milestone” US-UK deal announced this month on pharmaceuticals, which will mean the NHS pays more for medicines in exchange for a promise of zero tariffs on the industry, still lacks a legal footing beyond top lines contained in two government press releases.
The health department said that negotiators were now thrashing out the detailed agreement on the pharmaceutical deal. Asked to provide the headline terms, the department shared its press release hailing the “landmark UK-US pharmaceuticals deal” and a link to the equivalent US government announcement of an “agreement in principle” on pharmaceutical pricing.
Critics have noted that the two releases describe the deal in sharply different terms. The British release describes the UK as “the only country in the world to secure a 0% tariff on pharmaceuticals to the US”, while the American one largely focuses on how the NHS will have to pay 25% more for new medicines.
I mean… yeah. Any agreement that he’s ever made is built on sand. It’s kind of his whole thing. He’s a con artist. Also a narcissistic psychopath.
With no courts, no congress and no rule of law, there are no deals possible with Americans. They can't be trusted and you have no recourse.
Better to just not deal with them at all.
MPs shown to have no idea how building works as sand is regularly used in foundations due to its predicable compression profile and because it doesn't change volume when wet.
More like hot air, and you can't tell which end it came out as the smell is indistinguishable
With trump, its only a deal til trump says it isnt. Look at the Canada/ Mexico/states deal. Trump negyit, then decided he didn’t like it so annulled it.
Yeah, Trump's word isn't worth a monkey's fruity fart. Anyone who makes plans believing he's anything but a backstabbing liar will get fucked over. Maybe, for diplomatic reasons, you have to pretend, but don't commit to anything beyond that.