By Chris Summers
Contributing Writer
President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he had reached a trade agreement with Britain and that it would be a “great deal for both countries.”
“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,” he said at a press conference in the Oval Office on Thursday.
Trump said the UK would be “fast-tracking American goods through their customs process,” and that “there won’t be any red tape, things are going to move very quickly both ways.”
He said that the final details were still being written up.
“The actual deal is a very conclusive one we think. Just about everything has been approved,” the president said.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, speaking in London at the same time, said, “This is a really fantastic, historic day.”
Earlier, Trump wrote on Truth Social: “The agreement with the United Kingdom is a full and comprehensive one that will cement the relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom for many years to come.”
He added, “Because of our long-time history and allegiance together, it is a great honor to have the United Kingdom as our FIRST announcement.”
Trump provided a broad overview of the prospective trade agreement, the first by the United States since Trump announced his comprehensive April 2 tariff plans.
But while the president stopped short of offering the contours of the deal, he noted that the arrangement will bolster market access for U.S. exports as the United Kingdom will “reduce or eliminate numerous non-tariff barriers that unfairly discriminate against American products.”
Nothing was signed during the announcement.
“In the coming weeks, we’ll have it all very conclusive,” Trump told reporters at the Oval Office.
Trump also posted a chart on Truth Social, pointing to a $5 billion increase in exports, including U.S. beef, ethanol, fruits and vegetables, and other goods. It also highlighted a $6 billion boost in tariff revenues.
The UK tariff rate will also be lowered from 5.1% to 1.8%. The 10% U.S. universal baseline tariff rate on UK goods entering the country will remain in place.
Starmer, speaking at a Jaguar Land Rover facility in the UK’s West Midlands shortly after talking to Trump by phone, revealed more details of the trade agreement.
“This is just the start,” he said. “We are hammering out further details to reduce barriers to trade with the United States and across the world.”
As part of the new trade agreement, the United States will lower tariffs on UK automobiles from 27.5% to 10% and remove tariffs on steel and aluminum.
The pact will establish a quota of 100,000 UK vehicles that can be exported to the United States at a 10% levy.
The deal comes shortly after the Bank of England followed through on a quarter-point interest rate cut, lowering the policy rate to 4.25%.
Bank of England Gov. Andrew Bailey welcomed the trade deal, but stopped short of commenting further as he waited for more details.
“I say that because I hope the UK agreement, if it is the case this afternoon, will be the first of many,” he said at a press conference. “This will be good news all around, including the UK economy.”
Bailey said that because of its “very open economy,” the UK would still be impacted by U.S. tariffs on other countries.
Starmer Tact Succeeds
The deal is a win for the prime minister’s placatory approach to Trump’s tariff agenda.
During the April 2 tariff announcement, Britain was not hit with reciprocal tariffs but faced a baseline 10% levy.
Unlike his European Union or Canadian counterparts, Starmer chose not to retaliate with tit-for-tat tariffs.
“We are continuing to talk to the U.S. about how further we can mitigate the impact of the tariffs,” Starmer said last month. “But a trade war is in nobody’s interest, and there is no business sector that is being impacted by these tariffs who is saying jump in with both feet to retaliate and cause a trade war.”
Canada and the EU have implemented retaliatory levies on a host of U.S.-made products.
Both countries, meanwhile, have sought to establish a bilateral trade agreement since 2016, when the British people voted to leave the EU. While trade negotiations began in 2020, there was little progress under the previous administration.
Last year, total trade in goods and services between the United States and the UK was approximately $400 billion.
According to the U.S. Trade Representative’s Office, the United States registered a goods trade surplus of $11.9 billion in 2024, up more than 17% from the previous year.
The United States is far more critical to the UK economy, accounting for more than 16% of the nation’s trade — the EU is first at nearly 48%.
Starmer and his Labor government have been pursuing trade agreements with other foreign markets, including India.
Following three years of trade talks, the British government announced a “landmark” agreement earlier this week. Starmer stated that the pact will bolster the UK economy and “deliver for British people and business.”
The new trade deal will reduce tariffs on a range of goods, including apparel, automobiles, food, and jewelry. India accounts for approximately 2% of total UK trade.
British Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves said, “There’s an incredibly strong trade and investment link between the UK and the U.S. A million Brits work for American firms and a million Americans work for British firms.”
When asked whether the United States or the European Union was Britain’s most important trade partner, she said, “We shouldn’t choose between countries.”
In Parliament, a Conservative MP, Mark Pritchard, said: “Can I welcome the UK-US trade deal, and congratulate the prime minister on that deal. It’s very much in the national interest, although, of course, the devil is in the detail.”
