US-UK Trade Agreement: 7 Questions Keir Starmer And Donald Trump Are Yet To Answer

President Donald Trump meets with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, left, at the White House, Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025, in Washington.Donald Trump and Keir Starmer celebrated their “historic” trade deal yesterday, promising it was a “great” agreement for both the US and the UK.The Labour government has been trying to get a deal with the White House for months.So this agreement was a real victory for the prime minister, particularly as the UK was the first country to strike a deal with the States after Trump’s sweeping tariffs.Countries around the world have been scrambling to secure an economic arrangement with America after US president slapped 10% tariffs on most foreign imports and a 25% levy on steel, aluminium and cars last month.But the deal itself is still yet to be published, meaning there are plenty of unanswered questions around it.Here’s what we do know:Export tariffs will be reduced from 27.5% to 10% for 100,000 UK cars – which is almost as many as Britain sent to the US last year.It means Jaguar Land Rover can restart US shipments, having paused them after Trump’s sweeping tariffs at the start of April.Trump’s 25% tariffs on steel and aluminium – which came into effect in March – will also be dropped completely.UK farmers will get a tariff-free quota of 13,000 metric tonnes of meat.While there are concerns that this will clear the way for hormone-treated American beef to enter the British market, the government has insisted they will not weaken UK food standards on imports.Trump has also played down fears that chlorine-washed chicken may end up in the UK, saying Britain will just “take what they want”.Tariffs on ethanol have been removed entirely.And the US has reportedly still given the UK “preferential treatment” in any further tariffs imposed as part of further US government investigations into whether certain imports threaten their national security.But, as Trump and Starmer have admitted, the final details are still being written up.When will this deal come into effect?The prime minister said on Thursday that the tariff cut will start “as soon as possible”, and that the work to set a deadline is ongoing.But there’s no clarity about an exact deadline.Why was the deal announced so suddenly?After weeks of tense negotiations, the deal was unexpectedly declared on the 80th anniversary of the allies’ victory over Nazi Germany in Europe, VE Day.It caught many people off guard considering Trump had previously said other countries were in front of the UK in the queue to get a new post-tariff deal over the line.India, South Korea, Japan and Australia were all expected to secure deals before the UK.For Britain, it was clear a deal needed to be secured sooner rather than later in the UK because of the number of jobs which were about to be lost due to the American taxes on imports.There’s also been speculation Trump was keen to get a deal with any close ally because of the US’s weekend trade talks with China.A UK victory could give the White House the chance to deflect from any hiccups in the ongoing trade discussions with Beijing.It’s also thought Trump is feeling economic pressure from his own tariffs, which caused a massive disruption to global trade last month.But the exact reason Britain was suddenly at the front of the queue remains uncertain.And, because so much of the detail is still up in the air, there is still a chance it could fall through.What does this mean for steel and aluminium?While it’s a win for steel and aluminium firms that tariffs have been completely dropped for them, the real impacts remain unclear.UK Steel, the trade body the government had to step in and rescue from collapse a few weeks ago, have said they do not know what the deal means for them and if there will be strings attached.Will this be a cap on growth?There’s an argument that the new deal “caps” economic growth because only 100,000 British cars can be exported to the US at the lowest tax rate.If car manufacturers sell more than that threshold, the tariff will go back up.Chief secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones told Times Radio this morning that the quotas on these cars are reviewable every year and “based on current trade flows”.“It allows for our current trade flows to the United States to have that reduction in tariffs, which will be crucial for those car manufacturing companies in the UK who were really worrying,” he said.This means the UK will have to keep negotiating how many cars can be exported on the 10% rate each year.Is this a Brexit bonus?Trump insisted this is one of the benefits of the UK’s departure from the EU, its ability to negotiate such deals quickly.He told reporters the EU would have to wait for a deal, adding: “This was separate because of Brexit in particular. It always seemed so natural.”But Jones disagreed this morning while speaking to LBC, saying: “I don’t think this has anything to do with Brexit.”“I suppose what he was referring to was that we are the first country in the world to get a deal and get tariffs down,” he said.But Jones refused to say whether or not being an EU member would have had an impact on this deal – and he steered well clear of criticising the president at all.'This wouldn't have been possible if Britain was still in the EU, would it?''I don't know.''This is part of Brexit isn't it?''...I actually just don't know.'@NickFerrariLBC asks Treasury minister Darren Jones if the US-UK trade deal is 'a Brexit bonus'. pic.twitter.com/YIKRn51NuX— LBC (@LBC) May 9, 2025What about other sectors?The government has promised “work will continue” on securing an exemption for tariffs on pharmaceuticals, and other exports which are still exposed to Trump’s 10% tariffs.There have also been no concessions for the film and TV sector after the president threatened to slap a 100% levy on films made outside of the US.The digital services tax is currently unchanged despite previous fears the UK would drop the extra penalty for large tech firms – like Amazon, Meta and Google owner Alphabet – to win over the White House.But the countries will now work on a digital trade deal to reduce paperwork for British companies trying to export goods to the States – and the DST is reportedly still on the table.What does this mean for relations with other countries?Jones insisted this morning that the US will not have a veto on Chinese investments as a result of the deal, dismissing reports claiming such as “complete nonsense”.He also told Times Radio that this deal will not distract from the UK’s plan to work more closely with the EU.The minister said: “We will not be rejoining the single market or the customs unions, the institutions of the European Union.“But we think there’s room short of that, but ahead of the trade and cooperation agreement that Boris Johnson negotiated to make improvements for British business, British workers. And that’s what the government is negotiating at the moment.”Related...Donald Trump And Keir Starmer Agree 'Historic' UK-US Trade Deal'Best Out Of A Bad Lot': Naga Munchetty Questions Labour's New Deal With The USRight-Wing American Pundit Torches Donald Trump’s UK Deal With 1 Brutal Word

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