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Donald Trump is set to announce a trade deal with the UK on Thursday in what would make Britain the first country to reach an agreement with the US since the White House announced sweeping tariffs last month.
UK officials expect the deal to be limited in scope and focused on the car and steel industries, those hit hardest by Trump’s trade war. UK car and steel exports to the US are subject to 25 per cent tariffs.
The US president said in a post on his Truth Social platform on Wednesday that a “Big News Conference” was coming “concerning a MAJOR TRADE DEAL WITH REPRESENTATIVES OF A BIG, AND HIGHLY RESPECTED, COUNTRY”.
People familiar with the plan on both sides of the Atlantic said the expected announcement related to a trade pact with the UK, which would be a significant political boost to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
But British officials admit it will fall far short of the kind of comprehensive post-Brexit free trade agreement targeted by the past Conservative government.
The Financial Times reported on Tuesday that Washington and London were close to agreeing a pact that would offer lower-tariff quotas for British cars and steel exports.
UK negotiators have also tried to persuade Trump to cut his 10 per cent global “baseline tariff” on the UK, but conceded that is not about to happen.
The Trump announcement is likely to be the start of a process of further trade talks with Britain, which is also seeking a “tech deal” to deepen co-operation in AI and other areas.
Britain is expected to cut duties on US imports as part of the deal, with potential reductions to its 10 per cent tariff on car imports along with levies on meat and shellfish products. There has also been discussion of the UK reducing its digital services tax, which hits US tech groups.
A spokesperson for Starmer said: “The United States is an indispensable ally for both our economic and national security. Talks on a deal between our countries have been continuing at pace and the prime minister will update later today.”
Starmer, who is attending VE Day events in Britain on Thursday, is not travelling to Washington for the announcement, his allies said.
The expected UK-US agreement is one of 17 that Trump has been aiming to sign with America’s major trading partners as the White House rows back on the global tariffs announced on April 2.
The US president has been under pressure to deliver some early deals to convince investors that he is serious about de-escalating after his April 2 “liberation day” announcement triggered turmoil across financial markets.
Starmer is also under pressure to strike a deal with Washington after the car and steel industries warned of the “devastating” effects of the tariffs.
Vincent Clerc, chief executive of the world’s second-largest container shipping group AP Møller-Maersk, told the FT that a UK-US trade deal would be “very good news if it’s a sign that we have begun to de-escalate this situation”.
Trump administration officials have also been holding talks with multiple countries including Japan, Vietnam, India and the EU.
US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent is set to travel to Switzerland on Thursday ahead of talks with Chinese officials. Tensions between Washington and Beijing have triggered fears of a damaging decline in trade between the world’s two largest economies.
The White House did not respond to requests for comment.
