Sources from the EU and its member states said the text showed that Trump wanted to ensure America’s allies would work to cut Beijing out of important supply chains, namely steel and pharmaceuticals. China is not named in the agreement, but it is alluded to throughout.

“The language in this agreement on alignment with the US on forced labour, data security, economic security, and investment bans can only be read as China being the elephant in the room,” said Sam Goodman, senior policy director at the China Strategic Risks Institute, a British think tank.

Britain agreed to “promptly meet US requirements on the security of the supply chains of steel and aluminium products intended for export to the United States and on the nature of ownership of relevant production facilities”, the text read, in what observers saw to be references to Chinese ownership in the industry.

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Trump justifies ‘China tariffs’ as US effort to curb ‘greatest job theft in the world’

Trump justifies ‘China tariffs’ as US effort to curb ‘greatest job theft in the world’

Henry Gao, a professor specialising in international trade at Singapore Management University, suggested that the deal’s China focus would be a running theme as countries around the world scrambled to avoid tariffs.