US and UK poised to announce crucial trade deal

(Sharecast News) - The UK and US are poised to announce a crucial trade deal, it emerged on Thursday, just weeks after Donald Trump unveiled his sweeping global tariff regime. The US president posted on social media overnight that there would be a "big" news conference on Thursday concerning "a major trade deal with representatives of a big and highly respected country".

No further details were provided, but it has been widely reported that the country being referenced is the UK.

The prime minister's spokesperson said trade talks with the US were continuing "at pace" and that an update would be provided later today.

Trump upended global markets on 2 April, when he imposed swingeing tariffs on countries worldwide.

The UK was deemed to be friendly to American interests, and so escaped the higher rates imposed elsewhere, such as China and the European Union.

But the 10% baseline tariff was still imposed on all UK imports. Car and steel exports were already subject to a 25% tariffs, announced earlier in the year by Trump.

Should a deal have been struck, it would make Britain the first country to have secured an agreement, and will be seen a political win for Keir Starmer. It will also be the second trade secured by the UK in a week, after terms were agreed with India.

However, according to multiple reports, the deal is expected to be limited in scope. It will also likely fall far short of the type of post-Brexit free trade agreement that the previous Conservative government had long been pursuing, without success.

Instead, the deal is expected to focus on reducing tariffs on British car and steel exports. It is thought that the 10% tariff will remain in place, despite attempts by the UK team to persuade Washington to reduce it.

In return, Britain is expect to cut duties on some US imports. The digital services tax - which hits American tech firms especially hard - could also be reduced.