After hinting at a significant trade deal, President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. had reached a trade agreement with the U.K.
President Trump said that the U.S. would continue imposing a 10% tariff on most imports from the U.K. He also said that the deal would open nearly $5 billion in trade for other U.S. industries, especially beef and ethanol.
In return, the U.S. would exempt the U.K. from its 25% tariffs on steel, aluminum and car parts. The deal would allow U.K. automakers to export up to 100,000 vehicles into the U.S. at a 10% duty. The deal is especially impactful for Rolls-Royce, which is based in the U.K.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick contends that Thursday's announcement is just the beginning.
"In technology, they really want to work together with us," he said. "They want to do something special and we're going to examine that and work together. So, this relationship can only grow."
Tariffs are charged to companies when they ship products internationally. Many economic experts say the cost of tariffs is generally passed from the company to consumers.
However, Trump emphasized that Thursday's deal would be "the first of many."
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The U.K. remains a crucial trade partner for the United States. It sits behind Canada, Mexico, China and the Netherlands as one of the largest purchasers of U.S. goods. The U.K. ranks No. 12 in exports to the U.S.
The United Kingdom is among just a handful of nations in which the U.S. has a trade surplus, as the U.K. imported $79.9 billion in U.S. goods in 2024 while exporting $68.1 billion.
