TARIFFS of 10% will remain on the vast majority of British exports to the US, including Scotch whisky, under a new deal agreed by the UK Government with Donald Trump’s administration.
In a press conference on Thursday afternoon, Prime Minister Keir Starmer and the US president spoke in front of cameras on opposite sides of the Atlantic to announce what was described as a “full and comprehensive” trade agreement.
However, experts have said that the announcement is more about specific agreements in certain areas, such as automobiles, agriculture, and steel, rather than a full trade deal.
Under the deal, British car exports for the first 100,000 units will face tariffs of 10%, not 27.5%. The Labour Government said this was “almost the total the UK exported last year”.
British exports of steel and aluminium will not face US tariffs, but the 10% rate across other industries will remain in place.
Scotch whisky, which is facing 10% tariffs that will climb to 25% next June without a new agreement, was not mentioned by the UK Government.
Salmon was also left out of the deal, leading industry body Salmon Scotland to warn that the 10% tariff "barrier" meant further UK-US trade talks were necessary.
The UK and US did agree “new reciprocal market access on beef – with UK farmers given a tariff free quota for 13,000 metric tonnes”, Downing Street said. It added that there “will be no weakening of UK food standards on imports”.
However, the British Beer and Pub Association said: "We are urgently seeking clarity about the details of the deal as, given ethanol is not used to make beer, we cannot see how this is a win for brewers or pubs."
US officials also said that the UK would buy $10bn worth of planes and parts from Boeing. Reports said this referred to British Airways, though it has not yet been confirmed.
Speaking in the White House, the UK ambassador Peter Mandelson said that Trump had made an “11th hour intervention” on the agreement, calling Starmer late at night and “demanding even more out of this deal than any of us expected”.
The Labour leader said the real question was whether the situation was better "than yesterday", insisting it was a "significant step in the right direction".
Elsewhere, in a statement issued by Downing Street, the Prime Minister said: “The new global era demands a government that steps up, not stands aside. This historic deal delivers for British business and British workers protecting thousands of British jobs in key sectors including car manufacturing and steel.
“My government has put Britain at the front of the queue because we want to work constructively with allies for mutual benefit rather than turning our back on the world.
“As VE Day reminds us, the UK has no greater ally than the United States, so I am delighted that eight decades on, under President Trump the special relationship remains a force for economic and national security.”
Trump said on his social media platform Truth social: “The agreement with the United Kingdom is a full and comprehensive one that will cement the relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom for many years to come.
“Because of our long time history and allegiance together, it is a great honor to have the United Kingdom as our FIRST announcement. Many other deals, which are in serious stages of negotiation, to follow!”
The UK Government added: "Work will continue on the remaining sectors – such as pharmaceuticals and remaining reciprocal tariffs.
"But – in an important move – the US has agreed that the UK will get preferential treatment in any further tariffs imposed as part of Section 232 investigations.
"The deal opens the way to a future UK US technology partnership through which our science-rich nations will collaborate in key areas of advanced technology, for example biotech, life sciences, quantum computing, nuclear fusion, aerospace and space.
"The Digital Services Tax remains unchanged as part of today’s deal. Instead the two nations have agreed to work on a digital trade deal that will strip back paperwork for British firms trying to export to the US – opening the UK up to a huge market that will put rocket boosters on the UK economy."
