Donald Trump revealed that his first big trade deal is with the United Kingdom.
It’s the first major bilateral deal Trump has struck since his ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs last month sent the world’s economy into a tailspin.
He’s handing a big political victory to UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who has been negotiating behind the scenes with the White House for weeks to strike a compromise.
‘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 wrote on Truth Social early Thursday morning.
‘Because of our long time history and allegiance together, it is a great honor to have the United Kingdom as our FIRST announcement. Many other deals, which are in serious stages of negotiation, to follow!’
The president had teased on Wednesday evening that he would be announcing the deal at 10 a.m. in the Oval Office.
Donald Trump revealed that his first big trade deal is with the United Kingdom.
Sir Keir Starmer speaking at the London Defence Conference at Bush House in London
A UK official said on Tuesday that the two countries had made good progress on a trade deal that would likely include lower tariff quotas on steel and autos.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has been rushing to seal a pact with America before his big Brexit ‘reset’, due to be unveiled at a summit with the EU on May 19.
According to the Financial Times, the package on the table includes quotas that could protect UK exports of cars and steel, as well as reductions in the headline rates.
In return Britain is expected to make concessions on a new ‘digital tax’, as well as lowering tariffs on US cars and farming products.
Trump’s top officials have engaged in a flurry of meetings with trading partners since the president on April 2 imposed a 10 percent tariff on most countries, along with higher ‘reciprocal’ tariff rates for many trading partners, though those rates were later suspended for 90 days.
Britain was not among the countries hit with additional tariffs, because it imports more from the U.S. than it exports there.
Trump has also imposed 25 percent tariffs on autos, steel and aluminum, 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico, and 145 percent tariffs on China.
Trump’s top officials have engaged in a flurry of meetings with trading partners since Liberation Day
According to the Financial Times, the package on the table includes quotas that could protect UK exports of cars and steel, as well as reductions in the headline rates
On Tuesday, Trump said that he and top administration officials would review potential trade deals over the next two weeks to decide which ones to accept.
Last week, he said that he has ‘potential’ trade deals with India, South Korea and Japan.
Trump raised the prospect of a Transatlantic trade deal when they met at the White House in February – before the president unveiled his ‘Liberation Day’ tariff barrage.
Hopes have dwindled of the United Kingdom getting an exemption from the ‘baseline’ 10 per cent charges on goods entering America.
Starmer has ruled out several concessions the US was thought to be looking for as the price of a deal.
Trump said Wednesday he would ‘think about’ tariff exemptions for child-related products like car seats and diapers in order to bring the cost of them down.
Tariffs on China are hitting parents hard in their wallets.
Virtually every car seat, stroller, bassinet and changing table sold in the U.S. is made in China.
Trump said Wednesday he would ‘think about’ tariff exemptions for child-related products like car seats and diapers in order to bring the cost of them down
Trump has doubled Chinese tariffs, causing the prices of these items to increase.
‘I don’t know. I’ll think about it,’ Trump told reporters in the Oval Office when asked about exemptions for childcare products.
‘I want to make it nice and simple. I’m not looking to have so many exemptions that nobody knows what we’re doing. We have to make it very simple but I’ll take a look at it.’
The president’s comments came as investors anxiously await planned trade talks between Washington and Beijing on Saturday, which could mark the first step in resolving a potentially damaging trade war between the world’s top two economies.
