“I know our incredible trade team is looking at all the meats, all the produce, really, all of our agriculture exports,” Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said alongside the president, indicating Starmer’s Labour government has made concessions opening market access for imports of U.S. agri products.
“We are not going to lower British food standards,” said a No. 10 spokesperson, insisting the government has “always been clear on our red lines when it comes to food standards” with the Trump administration.
Crucially, today’s deal lowers Trump’s additional 25 percent tariffs on the U.K.’s automotive, steel and aluminum sectors imposed in early April — a benefit to British automakers who produce the U.K.’s single largest goods export to the U.S. totaling £9 billion last year.
The U.K. will be given a quota of 100,000 cars for export under Trump’s 10 percent tariff, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told reporters during the Oval Office announcement Thursday. British cars above that level will again face the 25 percent tariff.
Ongoing talks between Washington and London will attempt to tackle Trump’s threats to level tariffs on pharmaceuticals — the U.K.’s second-largest goods export to the U.S. at £6.6 billion — and threats to impose new 100 percent duties on foreign films.
Lowering the White House’s 25 percent tariffs on steel will also help shore up Britain’s failing industry, which faltered further last month when the government deployed an emergency plan to put British Steel under state control.
The U.K.-U.S. deal comes after months of negotiations leading up to the series of tariffs Trump announced in March and early April and is the first to be struck during the 90-day pause the White House placed on “Liberation Day” tariffs on April 9.
