SO Donald Trump and Keir Starmer have announced a trade deal of sorts.
A small trade deal has emerged, though not the grand, comprehensive agreement initially promised by Brexit advocates. Still, it represents a certain victory for the British government.
Since Donald Trump imposed hefty tariffs, disrupting global trade by placing 25% tariffs on car imports to the United States and 10% on all other goods, countries worldwide have been scrambling to negotiate individual agreements with the White House.
Now Britain has beaten everyone to the punch. They’ve got the first one. But what actually is in it?
So those 25% tariffs on cars are being reduced down to zero, but only on 100,000 cars.
Now we sell about 120,000 cars a year to the United States, so some of those cars will still be hit – Range Rovers, Aston Martins and the like.
Luxury high end cars, expensive cars that the UK sells to America.
Now farmers will be slightly worried by massive increasing imports of beef.
So we will be able to buy cheaper American beef here in British supermarkets.
This situation is likely to concern some groups, including farmers and beef producers in the UK, who are anxious about American products and their standards potentially undercutting British agriculture.
Now the government are insisting today that there will be no reduction in standards, and the beef that comes has to comply with British regulation and British laws. Now that’s seen as a bit of a win. However, those 10% tariffs will stay.
Peter Mandelson, the British ambassador standing next to Donald Trump in the White House today saying this is the beginning of a journey, this is the beginning of the end of negotiations. We are going to carry on desperately trying to get those 10% tariffs off of British goods.
So big picture. Where are we? We’re better off than we probably were this morning, but we’re not better off where we were six weeks ago before Donald Trump whacked those tariffs on global trade.
So a win of sorts. But back to square one really.
It comes as Trump today revealed a “full and comprehensive” trade deal with Britain — and hailed an “exciting day” for the two countries.
The US President used a press conference in the Oval Office to announce the “first” agreement with the UK after his global tariff blitz.
On a televised live phone call with Sir Keir Starmer, he hailed it as ” a great deal for both countries”.
The agreement will slash tariffs on Britain’s car exports to America from 27.5 per cent to 10 per cent.
And steel tariffs will be reduced from 25 per cent to zero in a boost for the export market.
But the baseline 10 per cent tariffs on all other goods imposed by Mr Trump on last month’s “Liberation Day” still remain.
And Britain appears to have cut typical tariffs on US imports from 5.1 per cent to 1.8 per cent.
Mr Trump said bolstering trade “always a big part of your decision on Brexit” while personally lavishing praise on the “terrific” UK PM.
What is in the US-UK trade deal?
DONALD Trump and Sir Keir Starmer have signed a trade deal – here are the details.
CARS: Tariffs on British-made cars being sold in the United States will be slashed from 27.5% to 10%. It will apply to a quota of 100,000 vehicles and save a company like Jaguar Land Rover hundreds of millions of pounds.
STEEL: Tariffs on steel exports into the United States will be slashed from 25 per cent down to zero.
BEEF: A “reciprocal” tariff-free deal has been made for 13,000 tonnes of beef, making it cheaper for export the meat across both countries. Britain insists it has not weakened food standards, which it has said was a red line.
ETHANOL: Tariffs on imports of American ethanol have been reduced to zero
OTHER GOODS: Other British goods are still subject to the baseline 10% tariff announced by Mr Trump on “liberation day”. Whereas the US are claiming the UK has reduced its tariffs on America from 5.1% to 1.8%
The President also highlighted how it is a “special day” because it is 80 years since Victory in Europe Day.
“Today’s agreement with the UK is the first in a series of agreements on trade that my administration has been negotiating over the past four weeks,” he said.
“With this deal, the UK joins the United States in affirming that reciprocity and fairness is an essential and vital principle of international trade.”
The US President also suggested the UK will be “fast-tracking American goods through their customs process”, he said, and “there won’t be any red tape”.
He added: “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 the products produced by our great farmers.”
He praised the UK as “one of the greatest” allies of the States and said the country “is right at the top – they’re the first one we’re talking about”.
The US President said he wants to “thank prime minister Starmer”, calling him “terrific” and saying the two countries have a “great relationship”.
Trump added how the “bond between our two countries will soon be stronger than ever before”.
Sir Keir Starmer praised the deal as “hugely important for sectors like car manufacturing and steel”.
He paid tribute to the US president’s negotiating team, saying they did “an incredible job, a very professional job”.
“This is going to boost trade, between, and across our countries,” the PM said.
“It’s going to not only protect jobs, but create jobs., opening market access.”
Starmer said the timing of this deal “couldn’t be more apt”, and referenced VE Day 80 years ago today.
He said: “To be able to announce this great deal on the same day, 80 years forward, almost at the same hour – and as we were 80 years ago with the UK, the US standing side by side – I think is incredibly important and makes this truly historic.”
The PM echoed Trump’s previous statements and said “we’ve always had a fair, balanced arrangement between our countries”.
He continued: “This builds on that. Hugely important for sectors like car manufacturing., and for steel and aluminium and so many others.
“And yes, we can finish ironing out some of the details, but there’s a fantastic platform here, including, of course, on the tech side.
“I’m so pleased that we got this deal, we’ve finalised it. And we’ve built an incredible platform for the future.”
UK ambassador to the US, Peter Mandelson, said afterwards: “Thank you very much indeed for that very typical eleventh hour intervention by you – your phone call to the PM – demanding even more out of this deal than any of us expected.
“But you took it to another level”, he added.
Mandelson continued: “You said to the prime minister when he came, and we visited the Oval [Office] that you would do a good trade deal with the United Kingdom, that you would do it at pace and that we would be first, and you have delivered that.”
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