President Donald Trump on Thursday announced a trade agreement with the United Kingdom, the first agreement established since his “Liberation Day” tariff announcement against all U.S. trading partners on April 2.
Trump said the final details of the agreement, which must be approved by Congress, will be finalized in the coming weeks, but it increases access for agricultural, chemicals, machinery and other products for both countries.
“The UK was largely closed, very much closed to trade, and now it’s opened,” Trump said from the Oval Office. “The deal includes billions of dollars of increased market access for American exports, especially in agriculture, dramatically increasing access for American beef, ethanol and virtually all of the products produced by our great farmers.”
Related: Trump says he won’t lift tariffs on Canadian goods
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the agreement will be beneficial to both countries.
“This is going to boost trade between and across our countries. It’s going to not only protect jobs, but create jobs, opening market access,” Starmer said in a statement.
Despite the new agreement, the U.S. will continue to impose a 10% baseline tariff on all goods imported from the UK, according to a fact sheet from the White House.
Under the trade agreement, the first 100,000 UK-manufactured vehicles imported into the U.S. each year are subject to a 10% duty rate, while additional vehicles will face 25% rates, according to the White House.
In March, Trump placed import taxes of 25% on foreign cars and auto parts coming into the U.S., on top of the existing 2.5% duty rate for imported British autos.
The UK currently imposes a 10% tariff on U.S. car imports, but it’s unclear if there will be any change as part of the agreement.
The U.S. will also be eliminating 25% tariffs currently imposed on British steel and aluminum exports to the U.S., while the UK will be reducing ethanol tariffs. Both countries also agreed to reduce tariffs on imported beef.
Trump also said Rolls Royce engines and plane parts will be able to be exported from the UK to the U.S. tariff free, while the UK was buying $10 billion worth of planes from the Boeing Co., which is based in Arlington, Virginia.
The UK is one of the few major countries the U.S. doesn’t run a trade deficit with. In 2024, the U.S. had a trade surplus of nearly $12 billion with the UK.
The UK was the ninth ranked international trade partner of the U.S. in 2024, totaling $148 billion in two-way trade.
During his meeting in the Oval Office, Trump also said he also plans to negotiate a trade deal with the European Union and is open to reducing 145% tariffs on imports of goods made in China.
