Trump agrees to cut tariffs on U.K. autos, steel, aluminum in planned trade deal with Britain

Trump agrees to cut tariffs on U.K. autos, steel, and aluminum in planned trade deal, boosting American exports.

U.S. President Donald Trump has agreed to cut tariffs on U.K. autos, steel and aluminum in a planned trade deal with Britain, which would buy more American beef and streamline its customs process for goods from the United States.

The symbolically resonant agreement still has yet to be finalised, but it suggested that Mr. Trump was still able to negotiate with other countries after his vast set of tariffs stoked fears around the world of an economic downturn and higher inflation.

Also read: Will Trump’s tariffs bring in a recession?

The announcement provided a political victory for U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and offered a degree of validation for Mr. Trump’s claims that his turbulent approach on trade may be able to rebalance the global economy on his preferred terms.

The U.S. president talked up the agreement to reporters from the Oval Office, even as the fine print remains in flux.

“The final details are being written up,” Mr. Trump told reporters. “In the coming weeks, we’ll have it all very conclusive.”

The President said that the agreement would lead to more beef and ethanol exports to the U.K., which would also streamline the processing of U.S. goods though customs. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the baseline 10% tariffs would stay in place, while U.K. officials said that Mr. Trump’s auto tariffs would go from 27.5% to 10% on a quota of 100,000 vehicles and the import taxes on steel and aluminum would go from 25% to zero.