UK finance minister eyes closer EU ties, warns 'profound' impact of tariffs

LONDON (Reuters) - British finance minister Rachel Reeves wrote in a column for the Observer due to be published on Sunday that she wants to achieve "an ambitious new relationship" with the European Union while still negotiating a trade deal with the United States.

In a separate article from Reeves' column on Saturday, the Observer said the finance minister wrote that tariffs introduced by U.S. President Donald Trump will have a "profound" effect on Britain and world economies.

Reeves will say that she is "under no illusion about the difficulties that lie ahead," according to the Observer.

"The Labour party is an internationalist party. We understand the benefits of free and fair trade and collaboration. Now is not the time to turn our backs on the world."

The finance minister plans to advocate for a "more balanced global economic and trading system" at the upcoming International Monetary Fund meeting later this month.

Britain's economy returned to growth in February with its fastest expansion in 11 months, beating economists' expectations and placing it on a slightly firmer footing as it braces for the impact of the tariffs.

Meanwhile, Pamela Coke-Hamilton, the director of the United Nations trade agency, said on Friday that tariffs and countermeasures could have a "catastrophic" impact on developing countries, hitting even harder than foreign aid cuts.

(Reporting by Sam Tabahriti; Editing by Sandra Maler)

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