Foreign media broke the news: Will the United States announce a trade agreement with the United Kingdom?

Source: Jinshi Data

The New York Times cited three people familiar with the matter as saying that US President Trump is expected to announce a trade deal between the United States and the United Kingdom on Thursday.

On Wednesday evening local time, Trump hinted on social media that a new trade deal would be reached, but did not specify which country was involved. He wrote: "A major press conference will be held in the Oval Office at 10 a.m. tomorrow (10 p.m. Beijing time tonight) regarding a major trade deal reached with representatives of a respected major country. This is the first (agreement reached)!! "

A White House spokesman declined to comment on the content of Trump's post, and a spokesman for the British Embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment.

The agreement will be the first trade agreement announced by Trump after he imposed high tariffs on dozens of US trading partners. Previously, he temporarily suspended some tariff measures so that other countries could reach an agreement with the United States.

The conclusion of the US-UK agreement is of great significance to both countries, as both sides have long sought closer economic cooperation. Details of the deal were not immediately disclosed, but the two countries discussed reducing British tariffs on U.S. cars and agricultural products and eliminating taxes on U.S. technology companies. It was not clear whether the deal had been finalized or whether the two sides had only announced a framework agreement and would continue negotiations in the coming months. The Trump administration has been trying to urge other countries to quickly reach trade deals with the United States. On April 2, Trump imposed punitive tariffs on dozens of trading partners but quickly backed down after a bond market panic. Trump suspended most of the tariffs for 90 days to allow the United States to negotiate with other countries. However, he still retained a 10% global tariff, including on the United Kingdom. Unlike other countries, the United Kingdom was not subject to a higher "reciprocal tariff" because it imports more from the United States than it exports. U.S. government officials have said that removing the 10% tariff in a trade deal is not under consideration.

The UK also faces 25% tariffs imposed by Trump on foreign steel, aluminum and cars, which it has urged the US to remove.

Trump's interest in a trade deal with the UK dates back to his first term, when his advisers negotiated with the UK but failed to reach an agreement. Britain has also seen a trade deal with the US as a means to offset the impact of weakening relations with Europe since Brexit. Under the Biden administration, Britain has continued to push for a deal with the US, but with little progress.

For British Prime Minister Starmer, the deal will prove that his careful management of Trump has paid off. When he visited the White House in February this year, Starmer also brought an invitation from King Charles III of the United Kingdom to Trump, hoping that he would make another state visit to the UK.

The Trump administration also appears to be on the verge of reaching agreements with India and Israel, and is continuing negotiations with South Korea, Japan, Vietnam and other countries. However, Trump again demonstrated his unpredictability about economic policy on Tuesday, downplaying the prospects for trade deals, saying other countries need them more than the United States.

"Everyone is asking, 'When is the deal?'" Trump said, pointing to Commerce Secretary Lutnick. "We don't have to sign a deal. Howard, if we wanted to, we could sign 25 deals right now. But they need to sign a deal with us."

On Tuesday, Britain also reached a trade deal with India to reduce bilateral tariffs and make it easier for British companies to enter India's insurance and banking industries. The agreement took nearly three years of negotiations to finalize.