Trump and Starmer hail ‘historic day’ as details of 'great' UK-US trade deal revealed

By Henry Moore

Donald Trump and Sir Keir Starmer have hailed today as “historic” as they formally announced a UK-US trade deal.

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Speaking from the White House, Donald Trump described the agreement as “full and comprehensive”, while Sir Keir said the deal would save “thousands of British jobs.”

Appearing in the Oval Office via video link, Sir Keir said the trade deal will be “great for both countries.

Trump said the “final details” of the agreement were still being “written up”, adding: “The actual deal is a very conclusive one we think, just about everything has been approved.”

The British Government has been seeking a deal with the United States to reduce the impact of sweeping tariffs imposed by Trump last month, which placed a 10% levy on all UK exports and a 25% charge on steel, aluminium and cars.

Read more: UK-US Trade Deal LIVE: Trump and Starmer hail ‘historic day’ as UK and US agree 'great' trade deal

Speaking on Thursday, Trump said: “The US and UK have been working for years to try and make a deal and it never quite got there.

“It did with this Prime Minister, so I want to just congratulate you.”

Sir Keir added: “With this President and this Prime Minister we’ve managed to achieve what many people tried to achieve for many years, and I’m really pleased.”

The US president had previously described the deal as “full and comprehensive”, but Thursday’s announcement focused on a narrower set of industries.

Under the deal, American tariffs on British cars fall to 10% for the first 100,000 vehicles exported to the US, while tariffs on steel are scrapped.

Steel union Community’s assistant general secretary Alasdair McDiarmid said the deal would protect jobs in the industry.

He said: “The UK Government deserves enormous credit for negotiating this deal to reduce US tariffs which would have had a hugely damaging impact on our steel sector.”

In exchange, the UK has reduced tariffs on US products including beef and ethanol, which US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick said would create 5 billion dollars in “opportunity for American exports”.

The agreement on beef provides a tariff-free quota for 13,000 tonnes of US exports, but the UK Government said this would involve no reduction in food standards.

Mr Lutnick added that British-made Rolls Royce engines would be excluded from tariffs, with a UK airline agreeing to buy “10 billion worth of Boeing planes later today”.

Mr Trump said the UK would also be brought into “economic security alignment” with the US as a result of the deal.

Number 10 said work would continue on pharmaceuticals and remaining tariffs, but the US had promised to give the UK preferential treatment if any further tariffs were imposed.

Lord Peter Mandelson, the British ambassador in Washington, said the deal was “not the end, it’s just the end of the beginning”.

Speaking in the Oval Office, he said: “There is yet more we can do in reducing tariffs and trade barriers so as to open up our markets to each other, even more than we are agreeing to do today.”

In a statement following the press conference, Sir Keir said: “The new global era demands a government that steps up, not stands aside.

“This historic deal delivers for British business and British workers protecting thousands of British jobs in key sectors including car manufacturing and steel.

“My government has put Britain at the front of the queue because we want to work constructively with allies for mutual benefit rather than turning our back on the world.

“As VE Day reminds us, the UK has no greater ally than the United States, so I am delighted that eight decades on, under President Trump the special relationship remains a force for economic and national security.

“This is jobs saved, jobs won but not job done and our teams will continue to work to build on this agreement.

“My Government is determined to go further and faster to strengthen the UK’s economy, putting more money in working people’s pockets as part of our Plan for Change.”

Speaking from the West Midlands, he described the deal as “historic” and “unprecedented.”

He confirmed car export tariffs will be reduced from 27.5pc to 10pc, describing that as “a huge and important reduction.”

When pressed on comments made by US Vice President JD Vance about free speech in the UK, Starmer said: “We've had free speech in this country for a very long time.

“There is nothing in this deal that impinges on this in any way whatsoever.

“I'm really pleased to be able to come here today and do it on VE Day- which is really significant.”

He added that the UK will try and agree terms to reduce US tariffs on British film and television.

Starmer said: "We'll take the same approach as we've taken on other issues, whether it's tariffs imposed, which we've been able to reduce, or potential tariffs in areas like pharmaceuticals or film.

"We'll take the same approach because for me, what matters is acting in the national interest and making sure that everything we do is good for working people in this country."