UK Appoints Indian-Origin Varun Chandra as US Trade Envoy Amid Trump's Tariff Threats

• UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer appointed Indian-origin Varun Chandra as Britain’s new special envoy to the United States for trade and investment.
• Chandra's role is to strengthen economic ties and advance UK's economic interests in the US, especially amid diplomatic strains like the Greenland issue and Trump's tariff threats.
• A banker-turned-consultant, Chandra has strong ties to the Labour Party and previously served as global managing partner at Hakluyt, a strategic advisory firm.
• He has close working relationships with senior figures in the Trump administration, including US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and played a key role in a previous UK-US trade agreement.
• Chandra will focus on diplomacy and trade negotiations, working alongside UK Ambassador Christian Turner, to repair ties and deploy British soft power.

Why It Matters: Varun Chandra's appointment aims to bolster UK-US trade relations and mend diplomatic rifts.