Donald Trump hailed a ‘great’ Transatlantic trade deal today insisting it will ‘open up’ the UK.
The US president said the agreement would be ‘really good’ for both sides – as British businesses welcomed some relief from his brutal tariffs. He also praised Brexit for making the arrangements possible.
In an on-camera call between the leaders, Keir Starmer paid tribute to negotiators and the Special Relationship.
Sir Keir said he and Mr Trump – who was accompanied by British ambassador Lord Mandelson in the Oval Office – had managed to ‘achieve something that many people tried to achieve for many years’.
‘There are no countries that are closer than our two countries,’ he said. ‘We’ve always had a fair and balanced relationship between our countries.’
However, a chart displayed by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in the White House suggested the US has trebled its tariffs on the UK since Trump took over – and Britain has more than halved its tariffs.
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said the country had been ‘shafted’ and it was more evidence that Brits ‘lose’ when Labour negotiates.
Sir Keir spoke to workers at Jaguar Land Rover in Solihull after his call with the president, saying he had them in mind when he was discussing the deal.
The car manufacturer said the arrangement would save thousands of jobs. The NFU said the government had ‘listened to the concerns’ of farmers and maintained standards, but expressed doubts about the impact on arable.
Under the new package:
Mr Trump said Britain had been ‘a little closed’ but was now agreeing to drop obstructions to trade and ‘non-tariff barriers’.
He said the UK will be ‘fast-tracking American goods through their customs process’ so that US exports will go through a ‘very, very quick’ form of approval.
‘There won’t be any red tape, things are going to move very quickly both ways,’ he said.
He said that the ‘final details’ are still being ‘written up’.
‘The actual deal is a very conclusive one we think, just about everything has been approved,’ the president said.
Sir Keir said: ‘We’ve always had a fair and balanced arrangement between our countries, this builds on that.
‘Hugely important for sectors like car manufacturing, and for steel and aluminium and so many others.
‘Yes, we can finish ironing out some of the details but there’s a fantastic platform here.’
Mr 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 said: ‘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.’
Sir Keir added: ‘It’s really good to have got this deal over the line, tribute to both teams, tribute to our countries and tribute to your leadership.’
After Sir Keir hung up on the call, Mr Lutnick claimed the US has ‘opened up new market access, ethanol, beef, machinery, all the agricultural products’ in the UK.
He added: ‘They’ve agreed to open their markets, and that will add five billion US dollars of opportunity to American exporters.
‘So the question is, why would they do that now, because they’ve never done it before? And we still have a 10 per cent tariff on which will produce six billion US dollars of revenue for the United States.
‘So the idea was, how did they keep their jobs, protect their economy and do the best for their people, while opening the market for us?’
The UK has ‘found the ways to do that so that we have new access, but the UK workers are protected, and that was the balance’, Mr Lutnick said in answer to his own question.
Speaking at the JLR base, Sir Keir said that he had ‘discussions last night’ with Mr Trump, joking that he was not happy it had been in the middle of the Arsenal match against Paris St Germain.
about the trade deal that has been announced, and he and the President ‘respect each other ‘ and ‘trust each other’.
Asked about any assurances he could give to businesses that the deal would not be ripped up by the US, Sir Keir said: ‘We’ve been negotiating this text for a long time. I had discussions with Donald Trump along the way, including discussions last night, we’re clearly in agreement.’
He said that there is ‘a written text’ that will be available and ‘this is an agreement that is absolutely clear’.
Sir Keir added: ‘We’ve worked well together, we respect each other, the President and I, and we trust each other, and have trusted each other through this process.’
Sir Keir seemed to be taken by surprise by Mr Trump publicly teeing up the deal overnight – as his day was earmarked for VE Day commemorations.
Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey praised the news this afternoon as he confirmed a cut to interest rates. Mr Bailey said it would help reduce uncertainty, adding: ‘I very much welcome it, and very well done to those involved.’
It is Mr Trump’s first trade deal since his so-called ‘Liberation Day’ trade assault on April 2. He has since delayed, reannounced and overhauled tariffs amid crashing stock markets and concerns over the sustainability of the US debt mountain.
The premiers raised the prospect of a Transatlantic trade deal when they met at the White House in February.
In a speech at the London Defence Conference this morning, the PM said: ‘As you know, talks with the US have been ongoing and you’ll hear more from me about that later today.
‘But make no mistake, I will always act in our national interest, for workers, businesses and families, to deliver security and renewal for our country.’
Although British hopes of escaping the ‘baseline’ 10 per cent tariffs have dwindled, the package is likely to include quotas to ease the effects.
In return the UK is expected to make concessions on a new ‘digital sales tax’, as well as lowering tariffs on US cars and farming products.
The Government has ruled out lowering food standards to allow more US agricultural products into the country, or watering down the Online Safety Act, which some in the US regard as placing restrictions on freedom of speech.
The PM 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.
There are concerns that could enrage Mr Trump, who has claimed the bloc was created to ‘screw’ the US.
Mr Trump wrote on his Truth Social site last night: ‘Big News Conference tomorrow morning at 10:00 A.M., The Oval Office, concerning a MAJOR TRADE DEAL WITH REPRESENTATIVES OF A BIG, AND HIGHLY RESPECTED, COUNTRY. THE FIRST OF MANY!!!’
He added today: ‘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.
‘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!’
Sir Keir has repeatedly rejected suggestions that the UK will need to choose between partnerships with Europe or America, saying the national interest ‘demands that we work with both’.
Economists have warned that Mr Trump’s policies are set to spark a global slowdown and wreak havoc with Rachel Reeves’ attempts to revive growth.
Brexiteers pointed out that the UK was the first to secure a deal, after Barack Obama’s notorious warning that Britain would be at the ‘back of the queue’ if it left the EU.
The announcement comes just two days after the UK said it had agreed a trade deal with India, which Sir Keir hailed as a ‘landmark deal’.
Commons Leader Lucy Powell insisted that food standards have been a ‘red line’ for the Government in the negotiations.
In the House this morning, Conservative MP Mark Pritchard asked for a debate on ‘the concerns of British farmers… chlorinated chicken, hormone-fed beef and, of course, antibiotics in pig farming’.
‘Can the minister assure the House, assure Shropshire farmers and British farmers that British agriculture is safe with this trade deal?’ he said.
Ms Powell replied: ‘These issues are still unfolding, but he’s absolutely right to praise the work of the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Business and Trade for the amazing work that they’ve done to get us to this point today, but he will be aware that the issues that he raises of food standards and agriculture have been red lines for this Government in those trade talks, and he will get the details later today.’