MP MATT Western has welcomed the UK-US trade deal which he says will save hundreds of jobs locally.
The trade deal between the two nations has resulted in the lowering of the trade tariffs which President Donald Trump imposed on some UK goods earlier this year.
Of particular concern locally was the 25 per cent tariff on the UK automotive industry given the importance of Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) and Aston Martin as local employers and their local supply chains.
Mr Western, the MP for Warwick and Leamington, had repeatedly raised his concerns about these tariffs and what he called the “devastating impact they would have on our automotive industry and as a result, our community.”
The MP had written to senior ministers about the tariffs and the impact they would have on companies like JLR and Aston Martin, and raised the issue in
Prime Ministers Questions earlier this month calling on the prime minister to continue making the case for companies such as Mini, McLaren, Aston Martin and Jaguar Land Rover in his talks with the US.
As part of the UK-US trade deal, the once 25 per cent tariffs on the automotive sector have now been reduced to ten per cent. This will apply to a quota of 100,000 UK cars, almost the total the UK exported last year. The 25 per cent steel and aluminium tariff was dropped entirely.
Prime minister Keir Starmer made the announcement on the trade deal at the Jaguar Land Rover site in Solihull with him directly addressing staff and the impact the tariffs would have on them.
He said: “In politics what matters sometimes is who you have in your mind’s eye when you are making these deals, who do you have in your mind’s eye when you are taking decisions.
“What I took away from here last time was you and the brilliant work that you do and had you in my mind’s eye as we did that.”
Mr Western added: “The announcement in this trade deal of a reduction in tariffs on our automotive industry is extremely welcome and frankly massively necessary to protect this vital industry locally. We shouldn’t downplay the impact these tariffs could have had on our towns and villages.
“We all know how many people locally are employed by companies like JLR and Aston Martin, and we’re proud of their connection to our local area and rightly so. I truly believe the prime minister gets that. He understands the devastation these tariffs, if continued at the high rate, would have had on communities like ours.”
