The United States has announced a ‘breakthrough deal’ with the United Kingdom that would create an aluminium and steel trading zone and secure the pharmaceutical supply chain.
The deal affirms that “reciprocity and fairness is a vital principle of international trade” and increases access for US agricultural products, US President Donald Trump said on Thursday, though he added that the final details were still being written up.
“The final details are being written up,” Trump told reporters. “In the coming weeks, we’ll have it all very conclusive.”
The deal, the first one struck by the US since Trump imposed his far-reaching tariffs, is also said to strip back paperwork for British companies looking to export to the US.
The president said that the agreement would lead to more beef and ethanol exports to the UK, which would also streamline the processing of US goods through customs.
The White House said that the deal will bring in $6bn in external revenue from its 10-percent tariffs, which will stay in place, but that it would also bring in $5bn in new export opportunities. The UK agreed to lower its tariffs to 1.8 percent from 5.1 percent and provide greater access to US goods.
The US already runs a trade surplus with the UK, making it a bit easier to find common ground, as Trump has staked his tariffs on specifically eliminating the annual trade deficits with multiple nations that he says have taken advantage of the US.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer joined the president in the announcement over the phone. Starmer said the deal would boost trade and create jobs.
Thursday’s announced agreement is the first agreement since the Trump administration started a global trade war with universal levies of 10 percent. The US has also imposed 25-percent tariffs on cars, steel and aluminium, 25-percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico, and 145-percent tariffs on China. US and Chinese officials are due to hold talks in Switzerland on Saturday.
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