Cars, steel, beef and films: the key points of the US-UK trade deal

Yahoo

17-05-2025

The UK and US have announced a new trade deal, or at least some elements of it, following a slightly chaotic transatlantic speaker phone call between Keir Starmer and Donald Trump.
So what does it involve – and what was left out? Here is what we know and don't know.
With Starmer heading to the Jaguar Land Rover plant in the Midlands to herald the announcement, this was expected to be a major part of the deal, and it is.
Tariffs for UK cars imported into the US will be cut from 27.5% to 10%, up to a maximum of 100,000 cars a year, close to total exports last year. This was, Starmer said, a 'huge and important reduction' – even if it is capped, and still a tariff.
US tariffs of 25% on steel and aluminium have been reduced to zero under the deal. This is relatively little in overall trade terms, comprising only about £700m a year.
However, steel has a political resonance beyond its economic heft, with the UK government stepping in last month to take control of British Steel to prevent its Chinese owner shutting the Scunthorpe plant.
The most potentially tricky area of the deal, not least due to concerns among UK voters – and farmers – about chlorinated chicken and hormone-fed beef.
The result was hailed by Downing Street as 'a win for both nations'. As ever, the devil could be in the detail. Government officials said there had been no compromise on food standards, while the deal would open exclusive access for UK beef farmers to the US.
However, it also includes £5bn worth of agricultural exports from the US to the UK, with the US agriculture secretary, Brooke Rollins, saying the deal would 'exponentially increase our beef exports' to the UK.
The National Farmers Union cautiously welcomed the proposals, but said that UK arable farmers could have concerns about the inclusion of large amounts of bioethanol imports from the US.
A White House guide to the deal which, while brief, gave more details than its Downing Street equivalent, listed a series of other, more specific agreements, including:
'Streamlined' customs procedures for US imports to the UK.
Preferential access to UK aerospace components for US manufacturers.
Increased help for US firms with UK procurement.
And now for areas where there was no news. Trump has been threatening tariffs on this, an important area of the UK economy, but it does not fall under the agreement – yet.
Trump's commerce secretary, speaking after his boss, indicated that more could come: 'It lays out the plan that you can work with us in autos, you can work with us with aero and commercial. You can work with us in pharmaceuticals.'
The UK film industry reacted with horror to Trump's promise this week to impose a 100% tariff on all movies 'produced in foreign lands', with predictions it could wipe out a business worth billions of pounds to the UK economy.
There was no carve out for this in the US-UK deal – but this is not a surprise. To begin with, Trump's announcement was just days ago. Also, it was less a policy than a rant on social media, and it remains to be seen if it will be imposed, and if so, how.
There had been speculation that Trump's team would insist on concessions in one or both these areas as a price to reduce tariffs – which could have caused a big political storm.
But answering questions in the Commons on the deal, Douglas Alexander, the trade minister, told MPs there had been no changes on either.