Latest news with #UKUSRelations
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Keir Starmer begs Trump White House to start ‘phasing in' UK trade deal this week with Britain's car and steel industry still in limbo over tariffs
Sir Keir Starmer met the US commerce secretary in Downing Street last night, as No10 desperately tries to get Donald Trump to lift tariffs on cars and steel as soon as possible. The Prime Minister dropped in on a meeting between Howard Lutnick and Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds in Downing Street on Tuesday, as the Government continues to push for its American trade deal to come into force. Sir Keir and Trump hailed the broad terms of an agreement more than a month ago that would exempt the UK from some of the US president's punitive and widely criticised levies. But the details are yet to be ironed out, despite warnings from industry that they could soon have to start looking at lay-offs. Mr Lutnick was in London for talks with China on resolving the trade war between Washington and Beijing, and Mr Reynolds took the opportunity to meet him in person to push for the UK-US trade deal announced last month to be implemented as soon as possible. The Guardian reported that No10 wants the deal to be in place as soon as this week, although the erratic nature of the Trump administration could prove a barrier. The meeting follows talks between the Business Secretary and US trade representative Jamieson Greer in Paris last week. Under the terms of the agreement announced by Sir Keir and Donald Trump, the US will implement import quotas that will effectively eliminate tariffs on British steel and cut the levy on vehicles to 10%. But the deal has yet to be implemented and tariffs on both steel and cars remain at 25 per cent, although the UK has been spared the increase on steel duties to 50 per cent that Mr Trump imposed on the rest of the world last week. In a post on social media, Mr Reynolds said he had discussed 'progress on our trade deal – including UK autos and steel' with Mr Lutnick. UK officials remain hopeful that the deal will be implemented soon, but Tuesday's meeting does not appear to have moved the issue beyond both sides agreeing the need to move quickly. Speaking in the Commons last week, Sir Keir said he was 'very confident' that tariffs would come down in line with the deal 'within a very short time'. Implementing the deal will require the UK to pass legislation, likely to involve regulations rather than a full Act of Parliament, while the US will also need to create a legal mechanism to bring steel and vehicle quotas into effect.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Starmer and Reynolds meet US commerce secretary in push to implement trade deal
Sir Keir Starmer has met the US commerce secretary as the Government continues to push for its American trade deal to come into force. The Prime Minister dropped in on a meeting between Howard Lutnick and Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds in Downing Street on Tuesday. Mr Lutnick was in London for talks with China on resolving the trade war between Washington and Beijing, and Mr Reynolds took the opportunity to meet him in person to push for the UK-US trade deal announced last month to be implemented as soon as possible. The meeting follows talks between the Business Secretary and US trade representative Jamieson Greer in Paris last week. Under the terms of the agreement announced by Sir Keir and Donald Trump, the US will implement import quotas that will effectively eliminate tariffs on British steel and cut the levy on vehicles to 10%. But the deal has yet to be implemented and tariffs on both steel and cars remain at 25%, although the UK has been spared the increase on steel duties to 50% that Mr Trump imposed on the rest of the world last week. In a post on social media, Mr Reynolds said he had discussed 'progress on our trade deal – including UK autos and steel' with Mr Lutnick. UK officials remain hopeful that the deal will be implemented soon, but Tuesday's meeting does not appear to have moved the issue beyond both sides agreeing the need to move quickly. Speaking in the Commons last week, Sir Keir said he was 'very confident' that tariffs would come down in line with the deal 'within a very short time'. Implementing the deal will require the UK to pass legislation, likely to involve regulations rather than a full Act of Parliament, while the US will also need to create a legal mechanism to bring steel and vehicle quotas into effect.
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Cars, steel, beef and films: the key points of the US-UK trade deal
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.
ABC News
14-05-2025
- Business
- ABC News
China criticises US-UK trade deal, warning agreements shouldn't 'target or harm any third party'
China has criticised the United Kingdom's trade deal with the United States, saying that no agreement should "target or harm any third party", amid concerns the agreement could see Chinese products excluded from British supply chains. Experts say Beijing's response indicates countries, including Australia, will have to strike a delicate balance between negotiating with the US on tariffs and keeping China on-side. The first deal following US President Donald Trump's sweeping tariff regime saw levies dropped on key British goods including steel and cars. However, the reduction was on the condition that the UK "meet US requirements" on supply chain security and ownership of certain facilities. The Financial Times newspaper reported that UK officials confirmed the US intended to target China with those stipulations. China's foreign ministry's spokesman Lin Jiang told a press conference on Wednesday that, "cooperation between countries should not target or harm any third party." A UK government Department for Business and Trade spokesperson said "trade and investment with China remain important to the UK" and it would continue to engage with issues "in UK and global interests". China expert at think-tank Chatham House, Dr Yu Jie, told the ABC Australia should note Beijing's response, as it considers what to do about the 10 per cent baseline tariff in place on Australian exports to the US. "The business and economic connection between China and Australia is larger than the UK in terms of the variety of products, also in terms of the variety of imports and exports. "The Australian government will probably have to weigh in on this more cautiously when they come to deal with Beijing and also Washington." The UK has been balancing rebuilding relationships with the US, China and European Union after Brexit, while trying not to get any one off-side. UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves visited Beijing earlier this year to restart economic and financial discussions that had stalled for years. China is the UK's fifth-largest trading partner, with bilateral trade topping £98.4b ($203b) in 2024. Dr Yu said the new British Labour government worked to reset relations with China since taking office, but the US trade deal made it more difficult to implement a consistent policy agenda with Beijing. She said it remained to be seen how Beijing might respond against the UK, but it could involve import rules for certain British companies, similar to restrictions already in place on some US businesses. Jeffrey Henderson, vice-chair of the China in Europe Research Network, said US clauses around supply chain security and provenance might signal how future trade deals with America will shape up. He said China would be most concerned about its components being restricted into the British car market, which received a reprieve from the US tariff plan. Britian also has a significant stake in the pharmaceutical market in the US, but that has limited input from China. "The US government may be using the British trade deal as a demonstration, in other words, 'this is how we propose to proceed in the future, so those of you have a major Chinese presence in your supply chains, and whatever products you're sending to the United States, then beware,'" Professor Henderson said. The professor emeritus at the University of Bristol said it was clear that China's reaction showed it was prepared to "retaliate" if its businesses were squeezed out of international supply chains. The tensions over the trade deal came as China confirmed a pause on non-tariff measures against 17 American entities. China's commerce ministry announced a 90-day pause on the US businesses placed on its unreliable entities list. Foreign organisations on the list are barred from importing, exporting and investing in China. Another 28 US businesses on China's export control list will also receive a 90-day reprieve. The announcement comes after China reduced most tariffs on US goods to 10 per cent from 125 per cent, following a deal with the US. America dropped its new levy on Chinese goods to 30 per cent, with the new tariff measures came into effect just after midnight on Wednesday in Washington, local time. ABC/wires
Reuters
13-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
China criticises UK trade deal with US, FT reports
May 13 (Reuters) - China has criticised a trade deal between the United Kingdom and the United States that could be used to squeeze Chinese products out of British supply chains, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday. Asked about the deal that was reached last week, China said it was a "basic principle" that agreements between countries should not target other nations. "Co-operation between states should not be conducted against or to the detriment of the interests of third parties," China's foreign ministry told the FT.
