As an Asian giant rises and Trump postures, the UK offers commercial credibility while inching toward a pragmatic European reset it won’t nameIn the theatre of 21st-century trade diplomacy, symbolism often eclipses substance. Last week’s UK-India and US-UK agreements reveal a curious asymmetry: in both, the larger partner, in terms of GDP, leveraged the relationship for political ends, while the UK supplied what matters – regulatory prestige and high-income consumers. The former deal offers India a chance to climb the “value chain” and access markets it cannot replicate at home. Donald Trump used his pact to stage a spectacle of grievance and control.Ironically, Britain – the smaller economy – behaves like the grown-up in both rooms. India turns the agreement into genuine gains. The UK’s trade concessions offer a glimpse of Delhi’s broader ambition: to pry open rich-world markets and access critical tech, as India positions itself as the west’s manufacturing alternative to China. By contrast, Mr Trump’s America focuses on image over impact. But Washington has tacitly conceded that the real action – on AI, digital services