The UK-US “special relationship isn’t going anywhere”, a senior diplomat has predicted, ahead of Donald Trump’s return to the White House in January.

Matthew Palmer, deputy chief of mission at the US embassy in London, told attendees the two countries “transatlantic alliance” and “economic relationship” was one of the most “resilient and adaptable relationships in the history of international relations”. 

Speaking at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI)’s annual conference on Monday, the top international official said there would be “change” after Trump’s re-inauguration.

But he added: “While leaders do bring change at a granular level, at a mechanical, structural level, our economies, our basic values and the links that make up the bilateral relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom remain constant.”

Palmer said “trade volumes, business ties, hiring and investing… all remain pretty steady” and argued: “That’s because the US-UK relationship is not based on the politics of the moment. It’s based on centuries of history, and has proven to be extraordinarily adaptable throughout that history.”

He argued that the relationship, which developed during the Second World War, then grew to “confront communism” amid the Cold War, shifted to supporting democracy and championing the “prosperity of the Internet age”, and adapted to face threats from “international terrorism… adversarial state and non-state actors… and Covid-19 and climate change”. 

While the UK-US’ economic partnership, he added, had survived “periods of inflation, deflation, stagflation” and “swung with the pendulum of protectionism and multilateralism”.

Bilateral UK-US investment stocks, Palmer added, are worth “over $1.5 trillion”, while more than a million jobs and $300bn in goods and services trade are supported.