U.K. Ambassador to the United States Peter Mandelson on Sunday cast the newly unveiled trade deal framework between the U.S. and Great Britain as set in stone — pushing back on concerns the deal might be doomed by the details.
The plan announced May 8 marks the first deal the White House has made with a foreign trading partner since President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs announcement last month, which sparked widespread concerns about U.S. relations with foreign trading partners, including the U.K.
“We regard it as finalized,” Mandelson said during an interview on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” “A deal is a deal, and I absolutely have no doubt that the president and his colleagues, Secretary [Howard] Lutnick and USTR [Jamieson Greer], having said they would do a deal, have been true to their word. They delivered this deal, and I have absolute confidence they will see it through.”
According to the framework, the U.S. plans to export $5 billion in products like machinery and ethanol, along with agricultural products, to Great Britain, with the 10 percent baseline tariff on British imports remaining. In return, the U.K. can export to the U.S. 100,000 cars at a 10 percent tariff rate, instead of the current 25 percent rate placed on autos. The U.S. will also eliminate the levy imposed on steel.
However, the framework left some tariffs unresolved, including pharmaceuticals and the 100 percent tariffs Trump threatened to impose on foreign movies last weekend. But when pressed about the deal’s gaps by CBS’ Ed O’Keefe, Mandelson stood by the agreement.
“We want to protect the American film industry and tariffs, if you can put a tariff on a film, is not going to do that,” he said. “But whether it be in respect of films or pharmaceuticals that may be coming down the track towards us, we have an agreement in this deal that British interests will be protected alongside those of the United States.”
Mandelson also defended the deal against backlash from the British press, which has slammed the agreement as rushed and faulted it for failing to eliminate all of Trump’s levied tariffs.
“Well in some cases, but in other cases we’re not,” he said. “Some case we are down to zero. … For example, in autos, we’ve got absolutely secure quotas for exports to the United States,” he said.
Looking ahead, Mandelson said there are still more negotiations to be had before the deal takes full effect.
“It’s a good deal, and I am very pleased that we have achieved it,” Mandelson said. “But now we have to build on it.”
