The US and UK have agreed to a trade deal, or at least a trade framework
Buying from Britain is already more expensive, as the dollar has weakened nearly 10% against sterling since January.
US stocks were higher in trading on Thursday (SPDR S&P 500 Trust) after President Trump announced a “major trade deal” with the United Kingdom, the first of many big handshake opportunities the US administration will be hoping to deliver in the coming months.
In the press conference that followed, the president, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, and other members of the negotiating team outlined some major aspects of the deal, including teasing an order from the UK for $10 billion worth of Boeing planes.
As part of the agreement, the US is set to remove tariffs on British aluminum and steel, while the tariff rate charged on cars will fall from 27.5% to 10% for up to 100,000 vehicles from the UK.
In return, the UK will “remove the tariff on ethanol — which is used to produce beer — coming into the UK from the US, down to zero,” while US beef farmers may find greener pastures selling to the UK in future, thanks to a “new reciprocal market access on beef,” per a British government press release.
However, many of the finer points have yet to be ironed out, with the president saying that “final details are being written up in the coming weeks.” So, what does the US actually import from the UK?
Per the UK government, cars top the list, with some £9 billion worth of vehicles shipped across the Atlantic in 2024, while medicines, power generators, scientific instruments, and aircraft round out the top five.
With the US dollar slipping 9% against the pound since January, buying British from the United States is already looking a little more expensive.
