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Donald Trump is planning to announce a new trade pact with the UK on Thursday, people familiar with the talks said, in what could make Britain the first in a series of countries to ease commercial tensions with Washington.
Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform on Wednesday night that a “Big News Conference” was coming “concerning a MAJOR TRADE DEAL WITH REPRESENTATIVES OF A BIG, AND HIGHLY RESPECTED, COUNTRY”.
The expected UK-US deal is one of 17 agreements that the Trump administration has been aiming to sign with its major trading partners as it rows back on the sweeping tariffs on countries around the world announced on April 2.
The scope and details of the pact expected on Thursday was not clear.
The Financial Times reported on Tuesday that Washington and London were close to agreeing a trade pact that would cushion the impact of Trump’s “liberation day” tariffs by offering a lower-tariff quota for British cars and steel exports.
The New York Times first reported that Thursday’s trade announcement related to the UK.
Earlier this month, Trump triggered a sell-off in global stock markets after hitting almost every US trading partner with “reciprocal” tariffs of up to 50 per cent, before lowering the tariffs to a 10 per cent baseline for 90 days to give room for negotiation.
Trump administration officials have since been holding talks with multiple countries including Canada, Mexico, Japan, Vietnam and India as well as the EU, although it is unclear how much tariff relief the US will offer.
The White House and the British embassy in Washington did not respond to requests for comment.
This is a developing story.
