The UK and the US have reached a deal over tariffs on some goods traded between the countries. President Donald Trump's blanket 10% tariffs on imports from countries around the world remains in place and still applies to most UK goods entering the US. But the deal has reduced or removed tariffs on some of the UK's exports, including cars, steel, and aluminium. Here's an at-a-glance look at what's in the deal.
This isn't a trade deal. Trump declared on social media this announcement would be a "major trade deal" - it's not. He does not have the authority to sign the type of free-trade agreement India and the UK finalized earlier this week - this lies with Congress. Congress would need to approve a trade agreement, which would take longer than the 90-day pause in place on some of Trump's tariffs. This is an agreement that has reversed or cut some of those tariffs on specific goods.
Trump had placed import taxes of 25% on cars and car parts coming into the US on top of the existing 2.5%. This has been cut to 10% for a maximum of 100,000 UK cars, which matches the number of cars the UK exported last year. However, any cars exported above that 100,000 will be subject to a 27.5% import tax. Cars are the UK's biggest export to the US - worth about £9bn last year. Car industry leaders have told the BBC that the quota could effectively put a ceiling on the number they can export competitively. The UK currently imposes a 10% on US car imports, but it is not yet clear if there had been any change to this. The US has previously demanded the import tax be cut to 2.5%, and Chancellor Rachel Reeves has indicated she is open to such a cut.
Trump also announced that Rolls Royce engines and plane parts will be able to be exported from the UK to the US tariff-free. He also said the UK was buying $10bn worth of Boeing planes from the US.
A 25% tariff on steel and aluminium imports into the US that came into effect in March has been scrapped as part of this deal. This is huge news for firms such as British Steel, which was brought under government control as it struggled to stay operational. The UK exports a relatively small amount of steel and aluminium to the US, around £700m in total. However, the tariffs also cover products made with steel and aluminium, including things such as gym equipment, furniture, and machinery. These are worth much more, about £2.2bn, or about 5% of UK exports to the US last year. It is not yet clear whether the scrapping of tariffs will apply to steel derivative products and whether only steel melted and poured in the UK will benefit.
What will be agreed on pharmaceuticals is still unknown. "Work will continue on the remaining sectors – such as pharmaceuticals and remaining reciprocal tariffs," a statement from the UK government said. Most countries, including the US, imposed few or no tariffs on finished drugs, as part of an agreement aimed at keeping medicines affordable. Pharmaceuticals are a major export for the UK when it comes to US trade – last year sales of medicinal and pharmaceutical products were worth £6.6bn ($8.76bn), making it the UK's second-biggest export to the US. It's also America's fourth biggest export to the UK, valued at £4bn ($5.3bn) last year. The president has not announced any trade restrictions on medicines yet.
There was no change to the UK's 2% digital services tax on US firms in this deal, despite reports there could be. Businesses that run social media, search engines, or online marketplaces pay this tax, which applies to revenues derived from UK users. Firms only have to pay it if they raise more than £500m in global revenues and £25m from UK users annually. But this is a threshold easily met by US tech giants like Meta, Google, and Apple. The UK reportedly netted nearly £360m from American tech firms via the tax in its first year. Instead of any change to the digital services tax, the UK and US had "agreed to work on a digital trade deal," the UK government said. It said this would "strip back paperwork for British firms trying to export to the US – opening the UK up to a huge market that will put rocket boosters on the UK economy."
The UK has removed tariffs on American beef and other agricultural products, Trump said. UK farmers have also been given a tariff-free quota for 13,000 metric tonnes of exports, which trade ministers said was the "first time" British farmers had been given this kind of deal. There will be no weakening of UK food standards on imports, the UK government statement said. Many American farmers use growth hormones as a standard part of their beef production, something that was banned in the UK and the European Union in the 1980s. The US has previously pushed for a relaxation of rules for its agricultural products, including beef from cattle that have been given growth hormones. This is an area where the UK has chosen alignment with the EU - and the forthcoming "Brexit reset" with the EU - over the US. The tariff on ethanol, which is used to produce beer coming into the UK from the US, has also been scrapped.
The US has made a major trade deal with the UK today (May 8), the nation’s first since President Trump’s 'Liberation Day'. In a press conference at the White House between Trump and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer via telephone, the President said he was "thrilled to announce that we have reached a breakthrough trade deal with the United Kingdom." He said the UK will be "opening up their country" and things will "move very quickly both ways." The deal itself was described as a "very conclusive one." He also gave special comment to Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who has been "terrific" and it was "an honour" to do business with him. Starmer reciprocated the praise and said Trump's team did a "professional job."
