Hopes UK pharma industry will escape US tariffs but gloom over steel exports as Starmer braces for talks with Trump
The PM is expected to meet the President in Scotland next week, where Mr Trump is touring his golf courses.
The White House has said the leaders will try to 'refine the historic US-UK trade deal' struck in May.
The prospects of getting the full exemption for steel exports that was originally hailed by Sir Keir appear to be fading, amid American concerns about creating a 'back door' for products from China.
However, there are signs of optimism that Mr Trump will offer guarantees the powerhouse British pharma sector will not be hit with threatened levies - which he has suggested could take effect as soon as August.
In a round of interviews this morning, Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said the government is 'still in negotiation with the US' over details of the agreement
In a round of interviews this morning, Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said the government is 'still in negotiation with the US' over details of the agreement.
'We obviously have a preferential deal on steel compared to the rest of the world with the tariff being 25 per cent rather than 50 per cent, but that's one of the outstanding issues which we are hoping to advance,' he told Times Radio.
'Alongside that, we still need to do the wider deal on reciprocal tariffs. That's the 10 per cent as opposed to the sectoral tariffs we've removed on aerospace, on automotive and some other key parts of our exports to the US.
'But that's a conversation that's still ongoing.'
Mr Reynolds said the global trade system was under 'unprecedented pressure', adding that was 'mainly because of the US agenda.
'Our goal, my goal, is to make sure the UK navigates that better than any other country in the world. I think we're doing that, but of course, there's always more work to do,' he said.
'But doing that in a way which makes people have stronger confidence in the UK...
'This is about getting what we need for sectors of the British economy, but also providing that confidence, that stable platform to the rest of the world, which benefits everyone in the UK.'
Sir Keir boasted about the steel industry being spared all levies when he unveiled a Transatlantic trade pact in May.
However, steel was not covered in the implementation text released last month - with the UK subject to a 25 per cent rate.
Mr Trump had warned that could rise to the 50 per cent being imposed on the rest of the world from July 9 unless terms were finalised.
That deadline has been extended with worldwide trading partners given until August 1 to do deals.
The UK has yet to obtain any guarantee that the crucial pharma industry will not be hit with tariffs, and there are claims Sir Keir has conceded the NHS will pay billions of pounds more for drugs.
Mr Trump has complained that medicine prices are inflated in the US to offset cheaper rates in other countries.
Asked last month whether Britain would be shielded from future tariffs, Mr Trump said the UK was protected 'because I like them'.
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