White House Announces ‘Breakthrough’ UK Trade Deal
President Donald Trump on Thursday touted a new trade deal with the United Kingdom—the first since his “Liberation Day” reciprocal tariffs were announced in early April.
In a press conference held at the Oval Office, the Commander in Chief told reporters that the deal “includes billions of dollars of increased market access for American exports, especially in agriculture, dramatically increasing access for American beef, ethanol and virtually all of the products produced by our great farmers.”
While the announcement was light on specifics—and the finer points of the deal are still being finalized—the president said, “Things are going to move very quickly both ways. The final details are being written up in the coming weeks. We’ll have it all very conclusive, but the actual deal is a very conclusive one.”
New market access for American chemicals, machinery and industrial products will be included in the treaty, he added. “Furthermore, in a historic step, the deal includes plans that will bring the United Kingdom into the economic security alignment with the United States,” Trump said.
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A White House fact sheet released soon after the presser included several supporting data points. The deal includes a $5 billion increase in market access for American farmers, ranchers and producers, though it is unclear whether the U.K. has agreed to purchase this amount of goods outright.
The fact sheet also confirmed that the 10-percent universal baseline tariff levied on the U.K. last month with remain in place, creating potential tariff revenue of $6 billion for the U.S. government. Meanwhile, the U.K. has agreed to reduce tariffs on U.S. goods and services from 5.1 percent to 1.8 percent.
The deal places a special focus on automobiles, which represent America’s No. 6 biggest export to Britain and the country’s top export to the U.S., according to the Commerce Department. Under the deal, the first 100,000 vehicles imported into the U.S. from U.K. manufacturers will be subject to the “reciprocal” duty rate of 10 percent, and any additional cars will be subject to 25-percent duties. This agreement replaces the 25-percent tariff currently in place for foreign vehicles imported into the U.S.
The fact sheet—and Trump’s comments—also hinted that aluminum imports, currently subject to the global 25-percent duty rate, may be modified in the future.
Britain’s Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, lauded the president’s efforts and exalted the two nations’ longstanding trade and foreign policy ties.
“We have been absolutely the closest of allies for so many years, keeping the peace through that close alliance, that friendship, we add to that this deal on trade and the economy,” he said by phone as reporters listened.
“There are no two countries that are closer than our two countries, and now we take this into new and important territory by adding trade and the economy to the closeness of our relationship,” he added. “It is built, as you say, on those notions of fairness and reciprocal arrangements. We’ve always had a fair and balanced arrangement between our countries. This builds on that hugely important for sectors like car manufacturing and for steel and aluminum and so many others.”
While fielding questions from reporters after the announcement, Trump reiterated plans for Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Jamieson Greer to travel to Switzerland this weekend to meet with Chinese officials.
Asked if he would consider lowering the 145-percent tariff rate if the talks go well, Trump said, “Well, it could be. I mean, we’re going to see; right now, you can’t get any higher. It’s at 145 so we know it’s coming down. I think we’re going to have a very good relationship.”
“China, as you know, has a tremendous trade surplus with us, and… we just can’t have that. I think it’s going to be very good for both countries. I would like to see China opened,” he added.
Asked whether the meeting will be a formality or a substantive discussion, Trump said, “I think it’s going to be substantive. China wants to do something. They have to at this point.”
But China is sticking to its guns and continuing to indicate an unwillingness to capitulate to Trump’s pressure campaign.
“Let me stress that China’s determination to safeguard our legitimate rights and interests will not change, and our position and goal of defending international fairness and justice and upholding the multilateral trading system will not change,” Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian said Thursday.
Trump also alluded briefly to the diminishing trade between the U.S. and China in the wake of the tariff standoff when a reporter asked about falling container volumes at U.S. ports. The sluggish traffic at America’s largest gateways has dockworkers and truck drivers worried about their jobs, the reporter said. The Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, which handle about 40 percent of the country’s overall imports, expects imports to drop annually by 35 percent and 38 percent, respectively, for the week of May 4-10.
“That means we lose less money… When you say it slowed down, that’s a good thing, not a bad thing,” the president responded.
