Washington — President Trump on Thursday announced the broad terms of a trade deal with Britain, which could lower the burden of his sweeping tariffs and potentially deliver a political victory for Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
The president said in remarks from the Oval Office that the two countries are “affirming that reciprocity and fairness is an essential and vital principle.”
The president said in remarks from the Oval Office that the two countries are “affirming that reciprocity and fairness is an essential and vital principle of international trade.” The deal is the first rolled out in Mr. Trump’s second term and comes as the president has used tariffs — and the threat of the levies — as leverage to bring other countries to the table to negotiate trade deals with his administration.
Mr. Trump said the details of the agreement are still being finalized and expects it to be finished in the coming weeks. But he said it includes “billions of dollars” of increased access for the U.S. to the U.K. market, including for American agricultural products like beef and ethanol.
Britain will also “reduce or eliminate” non-tariff barriers that Mr. Trump said discriminate against U.S. products, and fast-track American imports through U.K. customs, the president announced.
He called the agreement a “great deal for both our countries” and said it is opening up access to Britain for U.S. products.
“It’s going to be something very special for the U.K. and special for the United States,” Mr. Trump said.
Delivering brief remarks by speakerphone, Starmer said the framework will boost trade between the U.S. and the U.K., protect and create jobs and open market access. Starmer called it a “historic day” that is a “real tribute to the history that we have of working so closely together.”
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the deal will raise $6 billion in revenue for the U.S. as a result of the 10% tariff on imports from the U.K. As part of the agreement, Rolls Royce engines will not be subject to tariffs, and a British airline will buy $10 billion in Boeing planes, the commerce secretary said.
Mr. Trump had teased the announcement Wednesday, writing on social media that he would unveil a “major trade deal” with a “big, highly respected country,” which he did not identify at the time. On Thursday morning, the president posted on Truth Social that it “should be a very big and exciting day for the United States of America and the United Kingdom.”
“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,” he added. “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!”
A social media post from Mr. Trump said the framework will raise $5 billion in new export opportunities for American farmers, ranchers and producers, and strengthen national security for both the U.S. and the U.K.
“This deal shows that if you respect America, and bring serious proposals to the table, America is OPEN FOR BUSINESS,” the post said, teasing that there are “many more to come.”
Starmer’s office said the prime minister would give an “update” about U.S. trade talks later in the day.
“As you know, talks with the U.S. have been ongoing and you’ll hear more from me about that later today,” Starmer said at a defense conference in London.
Mr. Trump placed a 10% tax on imports from Britain, as well as 25% tariffs on autos, steel and aluminum on the premise that doing so would foster more factory jobs domestically.
A major goal of British negotiators has been to reduce or lift the U.S. import tax on U.K. cars and steel. The U.S. is the largest destination for British cars, accounting for more than a quarter of U.K. auto exports in 2024, according to the Office for National Statistics.
Britain has also sought tariff exemptions for pharmaceuticals, while the U.S. wants greater access to the British market for agriculture products. Starmer’s government has said it won’t lower U.K. food standards to allow in chlorine-rinsed American chicken or hormone-treated beef.
If a deal is announced, the British government will see it as a vindication of Starmer’s emollient approach to Mr. Trump, which has avoided direct confrontation or criticism. Unlike the European Union, Britain didn’t announce retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods in response to Mr. Trump’s import taxes.
A trade deal with the United Kingdom would be symbolically important and a relief for British exporters. But an agreement would do little to address Mr. Trump’s core concern about persistent trade deficits that prompted him to impose import taxes on countries around the world.
The U.S. ran a $11.9 billion trade surplus in goods with the U.K. last year, according to the Census Bureau. The $68 billion in goods that the U.S. imported from the U.K. last year accounted for just 2% of all goods imported into the country.
The U.S. is much more important to the U.K. economy. It was Britain’s biggest trading partner last year, according to government statistics, though the bulk of Britain’s exports to the U.S. are services rather than goods.
Mr. Trump has shown a desire to strike a trade agreement with the U.K. since it voted in 2016 to leave the European Union. Yet as recently as Tuesday, Mr. Trump showed no awareness of the possible terms of the deal when asked about its possibility.
“They’re offering us concessions?” Mr. Trump remarked to reporters. “I hope so. … They do want to make a deal very badly.”
Mr. Trump has previously said that his leverage in talks would be U.S. consumers, but he appeared to suggest that the U.K. would also start buying more American-made goods.
“I think that the United Kingdom, like every other country, they want to … go shopping in the United States of America,” he said.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told lawmakers on Capitol Hill this week that the administration is moving forward with “all deliberate speed” to reach agreements with 17 trading partners. He said he anticipates “agreements in principle,” and after they’re reached, the administration “will paper them over” in the coming months.
A trade deal with the U.S. is one of several that Starmer’s government is seeking to reach. On Tuesday, Britain and India announced a trade after three years of negotiations. The U.K. is also trying to lift some of the barriers to trade with the European Union imposed when Britain left the bloc in 2020.