Trump Hails the ‘Reciprocity and Fairness’ of the U.S.-U.K. Trade Agreement

The United States and the United Kingdom unveiled the broad outlines of a trade agreement Thursday, the first sign of a deal since President Donald Trump imposed across-the-board global tariffs in early April.

Trump was joined in an Oval Office press conference by Peter Mandelson, the U.K. ambassador to the U.S., and U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. The U.K. Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, took part through a speaker phone on Trump’s desk, calling the announcement a "fantastic, historic day."

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While many details of the agreement have yet to be fine-tuned, Trump described the deal as a "conclusive one,” saying "the final details" were "being written up in the coming weeks." He went on to say the agreement affirms that "reciprocity and fairness is an essential and vital principle of international trade."

Trump said he would keep in place his 10% base tariff on most goods coming from the U.K. to the U.S. The deal will open up the U.K. market to American exports including ethanol, agriculture, and machinery and eliminate tariffs on steel and aluminum between the two countries. "They'll also be fast-tracking American goods through their customs process, so our exports go to a very, very quick form of approval. There won't be any red tape," Trump said of the U.K. partnership.

Trump agreed to cap tariffs on a set number of U.K.-made autos at 10% and some specialized U.K.-made auto parts and engines used in American manufacturing will be allowed to be sold without fees.

Lutnick explained how the agreement will encompass the auto industry. “The U.K. could send 100,000 cars into the U.S. and only pay a 10% tariff," he said, standing next to Trump. Rolls-Royce engines, which are also used in U.S.-made planes, can be exported from the U.K. to the U.S. tariff-free, he added.

At one point, Mandelson jokingly offered to sell Trump a Rolls-Royce at a “very modest discount.” Trump smiled, saying, “I’ve had many of them actually,” adding that the last time buying a car came up, he ended up buying a Tesla.

U.K. government officials said that the new trade deal will cut tariffs on up to 100,000 U.K. cars from 27.5% to 10%, and eliminate tariffs on steel and aluminum. In return, the deal establishes a new reciprocal market on beef and removes the tariff on ethanol coming into the U.K. from the U.S. "This is going to exponentially increase our beef exports," U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said. "And to be very clear, American beef is the safest, the best quality, and the crown jewel of American agriculture for the world,"

U.K. consumers have long been wary of how American meat products are processed and packaged before being sent overseas, including the use in the U.S. of chlorine in some meat processing plants. Washing chicken parts with chorine is banned in the U.K.

United States Trade Representative Jamison Greer, who has been involved in the negotiations, said the details over labeling and export rules for meat products were still being discussed.

The trade agreement comes after Trump placed a 10% tariff on the U.K. earlier this year. Soon after, Trump announced even higher taxes on imports for many other countries, before putting a pause on most of them for 90 days. The U.K. was not a target of these higher tariffs, as the U.S. already has a trade surplus with the U.K., meaning the British buys more from the U.S. than it sells to them. However, prior to this latest trade agreement, the U.K. was subjected to the 25% tariff on all steel, aluminium, cars, and car parts imported to the U.S.

During the meeting, Starmer noted the timing of the news and how it falls on the 80th anniversary of VE Day, which marks the end of World War II in Europe. Of the U.S.-U.K. collaboration, Starmer said it was "a real tribute to the history that we have of working so closely together."

Trump teased the agreement before the official announcement, posting on his social media platform, Truth Social, that it was a “full and comprehensive” agreement between the two nations, and that it was "a great honor to have the United Kingdom as our FIRST announcement." Trump said more agreements are in “serious stages of negotiation” and will follow.

News of the agreement drew reaction from British lawmakers. U.K. Chancellor Rachel Reeves offered an optimistic outlook, highlighting the "incredibly strong trade and investment link between the U.K. and the U.S." She went on to say that a trade agreement with the U.S. is unlikely to impact any ongoing talks between the U.K. and the E.U. "We shouldn't choose between countries. The U.K. is an open trading economy. Open for trade, open for business, open for investment," she told reporters.

But Jonathan Haskel, an economics professor and a former member of the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee, advised caution ahead of anything being signed.

"People should remember that there’s a very big difference between trade deals and trade agreements," he said on BBC Radio’s Today programme. “Trade deals are limited and short-term and partial, just covering a few items. Trade agreements are broad based and long term.”

Trump-Starmer: A brief history of their relationship

Since the start of Trump’s second term as President, the two leaders appear to have established a positive relationship, despite uncertainty over tariffs and conflicting approaches to the war in Ukraine.

Trump and Starmer met in the Oval Office of the White House in February, soon after Trump returned for his second term, and the meeting was widely seen as a good start to their relationship as co-world leaders.

The U.K. Prime Minister delivered a letter from King Charles III addressed to the President, inviting Trump for a state visit, which was gratefully accepted. Trump also called Starmer “a very tough negotiator,” as the two discussed tariffs.

“In a moment of real danger around the world, this relationship matters more than ever,” Starmer said of U.K.-U.S. relations, adding that when the two nations work together, “we win and we get things done.”

Before Starmer became Prime Minister in 2024, he had a more difficult relationship with Trump. In January 2016, Starmer openly criticized the President, saying: “We are united in condemning the comments of Donald Trump on issues such as Mexican immigrants, Muslims and women,” adding that he felt comments made by Trump “repugnant.”

In June 2018, Starmer also said: “Humanity and dignity. Two words not understood by President Trump.” in response to a video showing migrant detention centers in the U.S. where parents and children appeared to have been separated.

In October 2024, Trump’s campaign team filed an official complaint accusing Starmer’s Labour Party of “blatant foreign interference,” amid the 2024 U.S. presidential election.

Starmer replied to these accusations, downplaying them. He said: “They’re doing it in their spare time. They’re doing it as volunteers,” referring to Labour Party members who were volunteering their time on behalf of Trump's opponent, Kamala Harris.

Ahead of Starmer’s visit to the White House in February, Trump also remarked that the British Prime Minister, alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, “haven’t done anything,” to stop the war in Ukraine.