President Trump announced a trade agreement with the United Kingdom on Thursday, a deal both he and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer projected as a major political win.
Trump, referring to the announcement as a “deal,” said it includes billions of dollars of increased market access for American exports, especially in agriculture by increasing access to U.S. beef, ethanol and other farming products. The specifics are still being finalized.
He also said the U.K. will reduce nontariff barriers that discriminate against U.S. products and that the U.K. will fast-track American goods through customs processes.
“The final details are being written up in the coming weeks,” Trump said, adding that the deal is “very conclusive” and “so good for both countries.”
Trump made the announcement in the Oval Office, where he was joined via phone by Starmer. Vice President Vance, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins were also in the room.
“This is now turning out, I think, really to be a great deal for both countries, because it will be really great for the U.K. also. So, they’re opening up the country; their country is a little closed, and we appreciate that,” Trump said.
The president hit the U.K. with a 10 percent “reciprocal” tariff on last month’s “Liberation Day,” when he levied higher tariffs on other trading partners. A week later, amid pressure from Wall Street and Republicans, he implemented a 90-day pause on the higher tariffs and kept a 10 percent tariff in place across the board.
Starmer visited Trump in February, and the two held a joint press conference at the White House. The U.K. is the 11th largest trading partner with the United States, according to Census Bureau data, though it is among the largest purchasers of U.S. goods and services.
While the agreement with the U.K. was still being finalized, the White House trumpeted it as a major win for the president, who has for weeks sought to reassure financial markets and consumers nervous over his shifting rhetoric on tariffs and the economy.
It is considered, though, the result of years of trade talks, not a direct result of the “Liberation Day” tariffs. The U.S. carried a $11.9 billion trade surplus in goods with the U.K. in 2024, which ranked the U.K. as the fifth highest surplus among all trade partners.
“The U.S. and the U.K. have been working for years to try and make a deal, and it never quite got there. It did with this prime minister, so I want to just congratulate you,” Trump said.
Starmer added, “We managed to achieve what many people tried to achieve for many years … and it feels completely historic.”
The U.K. this week also struck a trade deal with India that is aimed to lower tariffs between the two countries.
One reporter in the Oval Office pressed Trump on whether he was overstating Thursday’s announcement because he needed a political win, particularly given some of the rhetoric from British officials.
“This is a very conclusive deal,” Trump said. “But we think we can grow it even from that. But this is a maxed out deal. Not like you said it. You said it really incorrectly.”
While the U.K. is among one of only several countries that doesn’t run a trade deficit with the U.S., the White House has insisted the tariff plan would be in place to close trade deficits with partners.
Trump officials have been in talks with other trading partners over the last month, but Thursday’s announcement is the first of its nature.
Trump said Thursday that “every country wants to be making deals.”
He had downplayed the need for trade deals earlier this week, telling reporters “we don’t have to sign deals” and that he could have 25 signed if he wanted.
Treasury Department Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer was in Switzerland on Thursday for a meeting with his Chinese counterpart, the first indication talks are happening between Washington and Beijing since the U.S. imposed 145 tariffs on China.
Bessent had hinted negotiations on tariffs between India and the U.S. may be close to concluding after Vance visited the country, saying 17 negotiations “are in motion” with other trading partners.
Updated at 11:21 a.m. EDT
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