President Donald Trump said his first trade deal since implementing his sweeping tariff policies would be with the United Kingdom.
At the beginning of April, the president announced wide-ranging 10% tariffs and higher “Liberation Day” tariffs for dozens of countries, but he later placed a 90-day pause on the higher tariffs while negotiating new trade deals with the countries. Despite the pause being announced on April 9 with the promise of deals to come, Trump did not announce any finalized deals until Thursday.
Trump posted on Truth Social that a “full and comprehensive” agreement had been made with the U.K. He also said deals with other countries were in “serious stages of negotiations.”
“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!” Trump posted on Truth Social early Thursday morning.
The official announcement with the details of the deal is expected when Trump speaks at 10 a.m. Under Trump’s original sweeping tariff plan, the U.K. was not subject to the higher rates and was instead tariffed the universal 10% rate on all its imports into the U.S. He also had blanket 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports into the U.S.
Of the global reactions to Trump’s tariffs, the United Kingdom had a fairly tame response publicly, instead discussing optimism at a deal and not imposing retaliatory tariffs. Officials did stress that no options were off the table, but Trump and British officials had regularly stated that talks were ongoing.
The U.K. exported in 2024 amounted to roughly $261.8 billion, according to the United Kingdom’s Department for Business and Trade, with the top exported goods during that year being cars, pharmaceutical products, power generators, scientific instruments, and aircraft. Steel and aluminum are also popular imports from the U.K. into the U.S., which were impacted by tariffs.
Trump’s first post-tariff plan trade deal is also with a country he has shown fondness toward. The president had a state visit to the U.K. in 2019, where he met with the then-monarch of the country, Queen Elizabeth II, who he joked he had “too much fun” with. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer relayed an invitation from King Charles III Trump
TRUMP SAYS HE WON’T DROP 145% CHINA TARIFFS TO ADVANCE NEGOTIATIONS, AS REQUESTED BY BEIJING
The pause is set to end on July 8, but during the pause, the blanket 10% tariff rates are still in effect. China was the only country exempted from the pause, with Trump slapping 145% tariffs on it because of its retaliatory response to his initial tariff rates.
On Wednesday, the president said he would not lower the high tariff rate for China to advance trade negotiations with the country. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer are expected to meet with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng and other Chinese officials in Switzerland this weekend to discuss trade.
