American and Chinese officials will finally hold trade talks later this week, a first attempt to limit the tariff war launched by President Trump on his “liberation day” on April 2.
In a co-ordinated announcement, spokespeople for the two governments said Scott Bessent, the US treasury secretary, Jamieson Greer, the trade representative, and He Lifeng, the Chinese vice-premier, would arrive in Switzerland on Friday for talks on Saturday and Sunday.
“I look forward to productive talks as we work towards rebalancing the international economic system towards better serving the interests of the US,” Bessent said in a statement on Tuesday evening.
• Read in full: US treasury secretary the Chinese vice-premier will meet in Switzerland
Deal would be welcome ‘Brexit benefit’
A US-UK trade deal would be “another Brexit benefit”, Andrew Griffith, the shadow trade secretary, said.
Responding to reports of an announcement this afternoon, the Conservative MP said in a post on X: “A comprehensive UK-US trade deal would be welcome and another Brexit benefit. We will of course scrutinise the detail of any deal — which should first be announced to parliament.”
Griffiths also took aim at Ed Miliband, the energy and net zero secretary, and said: “Restoring growth to the UK also requires reversing Labour’s attacks on business and cutting ‘Red Ed’s’ high energy costs.”
UK-India trade deal: the questions that remain unanswered
Ministers are understandably keen to laud the benefits of their trade deal with India but so far details are thin on the ground.
No text of the agreement has been published and material in the public domain is focused on what each side wants to emphasise — so what are the crucial questions that remain unanswered?
• Read in full: Several issues need clarification, including its impact on immigration
Give MPs a say on the deal, says Cooper
MPs should be given a vote on any UK-US trade deal so the agreement can be “properly scrutinised”, the Liberal Democrats said.
Daisy Cooper, the deputy leader, said: “A good trade deal with the US could bring huge benefits, but Liberal Democrats are deeply concerned that it may include measures that threaten our NHS, undermine our farmers or give tax cuts to US tech billionaires.
“If the government is confident the agreement it has negotiated with Trump is in Britain’s national interest, it should not be afraid to bring it before MPs.”
Indian trade deal ‘will cost Britain £200m a year in lost taxes’
Britain’s trade deal with India will cost the Treasury about £200 million a year in lost taxes and make it cheaper for Indian firms to bring workers to the UK, an internal Treasury analysis concluded.
Sir Keir Starmer defended the deal and dismissed claims by the Conservatives that the agreement would undercut British workers as “incoherent nonsense”.
However, sources said that an impact assessment of the deal, carried out under the last government, found that excluding Indian workers sent to Britain by their companies from national insurance payments for three years would see tax revenues fall by up to £200 million a year.
• Read in full: Impact assessment found national insurance concessions would come at considerable cost
The importance of striking a UK-US trade deal
The United States is by the far UK’s largest trading partner. According to data released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on April 25, in 2024, the UK purchased £57.1 billion worth of goods from America and it sold £59.3 billion of products to the country, leaving the trading relationship between two countries broadly in balance. Germany is the second biggest purchaser of UK goods, followed by the Netherlands and the Republic of Ireland.
According to the ONS, of the nearly £60 billion of goods exported to America from the UK last year, machinery and transport equipment represented £29.1 billion of that total, by far the category with the highest value of US sales. The statistics showed that sales of mechanical power generators, which includes products such as turbines and internal combustion engines for cars, reached £4.6 billion last year.
• Read in full: Car manufacturing and the steel sector remain exposed to Trump’s tariffs
What could a deal involve?
The details of the UK-US trade deal remain unclear, and it may be that the announcement will only set up a framework before more negotiations.
During talks the UK government has sought relief for the car industry, the food and drink sectors and the pharmaceutical and steel industries.
It is believed that the White House has demanded lowering UK tariffs on American cars and agricultural products, as well as removing taxes on US tech firms.
No hint on details from defence minister
John Healey, the defence secretary, refused to comment on reports of a UK-US trade deal.
WIKTOR SZYMANOWICZ/FUTURE PUBLISHING/GETTY IMAGES
“Ministers like me have been keen to give the negotiations the space to get the best possible deal for the UK,” he told Times Radio.
“So, we just haven’t been giving a running commentary on developments or timelines, so I’m not going to start now.”
No 10 to give update on deal
Sir Keir Starmer will provide an update on US trade talks “later today”, a Downing Street spokeswoman said. She added that the talks have been “continuing at pace”.
“The prime minister will always act in Britain’s national interest — for workers, for business, for families,” the spokeswoman said.
“The United States is an indispensable ally for both our economic and national security. Talks on a deal between our countries have been continuing at pace and the prime minister will update later today.”
President Trump trailed the deal with a post on his Truth Social platform on Wednesday night.
He said that the announcement would be made at a “big news conference” at the White House at 3pm UK time (10am in the US).
SAMUEL CORUM /THE MEGA AGENCY
Trump did not confirm it concerned Britain but wrote that it was “a MAJOR TRADE DEAL WITH REPRESENTATIVES OF A BIG, AND HIGHLY RESPECTED, COUNTRY”. He added that it was “THE FIRST OF MANY!!!”
The president has previously claimed the US was close to reaching deals with Japan, South Korea and Vietnam.
US expected to confirm deal
President Trump is expected to confirm the UK-US trade deal later on Thursday afternoon.
The agreement would be the first deal reached since Trump announced global tariffs last month on what he called “Liberation Day”. Britain was hit with a 10 per cent overall tariff — the lowest level imposed — as well as a general 25 per cent tariff on steel, aluminium and cars.
Talks between the US and UK have been intensifying over recent months. Sir Keir Starmer discussed the possible deal when he met the US president at the White House in February.
Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, met with the US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent in April, and said that the government had been “working flat out” to get a deal over the line.
It come after the UK’s announcement of a trade deal with India on Tuesday.
