British Finance Minister Gordon Brown yesterday called for closer cooperation and an end to trade barriers between Europe and the United States.

In a speech to the British Chambers of Commerce, the Chancellor of the Exchequer said removal of trade tariffs and a more consistent approach to competition policy would benefit both sides of the Atlantic and it was essential Europe and the US worked together.

"I believe as (Prime Minister) Tony Blair has said, one of the lessons of the UN debate on Iraq is that Europe and America should recognise that we do better as partners not rivals, not at odds with each other but true allies in creating both peace and prosperity around the world," Mr Brown said.

Last year, US President George W. Bush's administration angered much of the world by slapping tariffs on steel imports in a bid to protect its own industry from global competition. Since then, the relationship between the US and countries like France and Germany has worsened after they, unlike Britain, refused to back a US-led war on Iraq.

"We should recognise that when Europe and America are at odds with each other everyone loses but when Europe and America work as one in partnership there is little we cannot achieve for the world together," Mr Brown told the BCC.

He said it is important to "deepen and widen our transatlantic alliance by removing the remaining industrial tariffs that divide and cause unnecessary trade disputes".