UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has praised US President Donald Trump for a trade deal between the two allies that is ‘truly historic’.
Starmer called in to the Oval Office on Thursday morning ahead of Trump’s announcement on the details of the trade deal, which is the first the US has achieved with any country.
‘This is a really fantastic, historic day,’ said the prime minister, who was put on speakerphone.
‘We’ve always had a fair and balanced arrangement between our countries. This builds on that.’
Starmer celebrated the deal being announced on the 80th anniversary of VE Day, when Britain and its allies accepted Nazi Germany’s surrender that brought World War II to an end.
‘You may or may not know, but it was about this time of day exactly 80 years ago that Winston Churchill announced victory in Europe,’ he said.
Trump said the UK will fast-track products in its customs processes. The agreement will include billions of dollars of market access for American exports including chemicals like ethanol and farm products like beef.
‘There are no two countries that are closer than our two countries,’ Starmer said.
‘And now we take this into new and important territory by adding trade and the economy to the closeness of our relationship.’
Starmer and Trump both said that the final details of the deal are still being worked on.
‘We can finish ironing out some of the details,’ the prime minister said.
Trump took to his Truth Social platform to further laud the deal.
‘Together with our strong Ally, the United Kingdom, we have reached the first, historic Trade Deal since Liberation Day,’ he wrote.
‘This Deal shows that if you respect America, and bring serious proposals to the table, America is OPEN FOR BUSINESS. Many more to come — STAY TUNED!’
Earlier, Trump declared ‘The Golden Age of America is coming’ in light of striking the trade deal with the UK.
He described the deal as ‘full and comprehensive’ on Truth Social platform, highlighting the special relationship with the US.
He said: ‘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!’
A spokesperson for Starmer said talks on a trade agreement ‘are continuing and we look forward to providing an update later today’.
Asked if Downing Street had been surprised by Trump’s social media post, the spokesman said: ‘As you know, we have been progressing this deal over the last few weeks and months, and officials have been in the US progressing these talks over the last few days as well.’
Trump teased the announcement the day before during a meeting with new Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney hinting at news on ‘a certain subject, a very important subject’ before the end of the week.
The deal is the first agreed by the US since the president’s ‘liberation day’ announcement of sweeping tariffs in April.
It comes after weeks of negotiations with the White House, during which the British government took a less combative approach than other allies.
While Canada and the EU said they would fire back at Trump with reciprocal tariffs, the UK placed the emphasis on securing a deal.
Final terms remain unclear, and the announcement may lay the groundwork for a more detailed agreement to follow.
What is the US and UK’s new deal expected to be?
It’s not clear right now. The White House has offered few details about what might be included, and not much has leaked.
Number 10 has been similarly tight-lipped. A spokesperson said this morning that trade talks with the US have been ‘continuing at pace’ and the Prime Minister will provide an update ‘later today’.
The deal was not expected to be a free trade agreement of the kind that has been promised by previous governments since Brexit, and is likely to have a narrower focus.
But the scope appears to have been widened considerably by Trump’s promise in his social media post that it will be ‘full and comprehensive’.
The number one priority of the UK’s trade negotiators will be tackling those tariffs.
Trump has indicated the 10% baseline tariffs on all imports to the US will be going nowhere, but there could be room for manoeuvre with the higher tariffs on products like cars and steel.
There’s a chance there could be movement on the recently announced movie tariffs too.
As for what the UK might offer in return, reports suggest the government could make concessions on the digital services tax for US firms and cut tariffs on imports of cars and agricultural products from the US.
In the House of Commons today, Conservative MP for The Wrekin Mark Pritchard said British farmers are concerned about ‘chlorinated chicken, hormone-fed beef and, of course, antibiotics in pig farming’.
Commons leader Lucy Powell said the details would come later today but added the issues of food standards and agriculture ‘have been red lines for this government in those trade talks’.
What tariffs are currently in place?
Most products imported from the UK to the US are hit by a 10% tariff. This means British-made goods are 10% more expensive.
Aluminium, steel, cars and vehicle parts have a higher tariff of 25% in place.
Trump has also threatened that the pharmaceutical industry – which is a major element of the UK economy – could be next in line to be hit.
What happens next?
We will need to wait and see what stage the deal is at, and whether UK officials still need to sign it.
But the Liberal Democrats have said there must be a vote in parliament on the agreement before it comes into effect.
The party’s deputy leader and treasury spokesperson Daisy Cooper said: ‘Parliament must be given a vote on this US trade deal so it can be properly scrutinised.
‘A good trade deal with the US could bring huge benefits, but Liberal Democrats are deeply concerned that it may include measures that threaten our NHS, undermine our farmers or give tax cuts to US tech billionaires.’
The government has not committed to putting the agreement to a vote, despite Labour saying such a move should be mandatory while it was in opposition.
How long will the deal last?
The specifics of the deal will likely be outlined by the leaders of either side of the Atlantic this afternoon, but trade deals aren’t permanent in a political or legal sense.
Countries renegotiate trade deals all the time, while some agreements have withdrawal clauses and expiration dates.
When is the 90-day tariff pause set to end?
The President introduced dozens of stiff global tariffs early into his term, shaking the markets and raising fears of a recession.
Only hours after rolling out punishing levies on 60 countries last month, Trump said he would pause them for 90 days.
The clock runs out on July 8. Unless trade deals are signed, punishing tariffs as high as 50% will go back into effect.
The UK Government has been pursuing a deal with the US to reduce the impact of sweeping tariffs imposed by Trump last month, which placed a 10% levy on all UK exports and a 25% charge on steel, aluminium and cars.
If Trump does announce a deal with the UK, it will be the first agreement since he announced the tariffs on April 2.
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