Tories accuse Starmer of 'shafting' Britain with US trade deal: Trump lowers tariffs on car and steel exports to America while US farmers get access to Britain
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Donald Trump hailed a 'great' Transatlantic trade deal today insisting it will 'open up' the UK - despite claims the country has been 'shafted'.
The US President said the agreement would be 'really good' for both sides, as British businesses welcomed some relief from his brutal tariffs.
Charges on cars and steel exports to the States will be lowered in return for the UK slashing its own levies and loosening restrictions on farming markets.
In an on-camera call between the leaders, Mr Trump praised Brexit for making the arrangements possible.
Sir Keir said he and Mr Trump - who was accompanied by British ambassador Lord Mandelson in the Oval Office - had managed to 'achieve something that many people tried to achieve for many years'.
However, a chart displayed by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in the White House suggested the US has trebled its tariffs on the UK since Mr Trump took over - and Britain has more than halved its tariffs on American goods.
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said the country had been 'shafted' and it was more evidence that Brits 'lose' when Labour negotiates.
Sir Keir spoke to workers at Jaguar Land Rover in Solihull after his call with the US President, saying he had them in mind when he was discussing the deal. The car manufacturer said the arrangement would save thousands of jobs.
The National Farming Union said the government had 'listened to the concerns' of farmers and maintained food standards, but expressed doubts about the impact on arable producers.
Under the new package:
- The impact of the eye-watering 25 per cent levies on cars will be eased with a quota of 100,000 a year that will be charged at a lower rate of 10 per cent. That will roughly cover the UK's annual exports;
- The 25 per cent tariffs on steel exports to the US will be reduced to zero;
- There will be reciprocal access to markets for beef, but the UK government insisted food standards will not be compromised for products such as chlorinated chicken and hormone-treated beef;
- British-made Rolls Royce engines will be excluded from tariffs but Mr Lutnick said the UK was going to buy £10billion worth of Boeing aircraft;
- Britain is still hoping to head off the threat of an assault on the pharma sector, but conceded that 'work will continue' on that front;
- The Digital Services Tax is 'unchanged' as a result of the agreement, according to Downing Street, despite speculation over concessions. Instead the nations will 'work on a digital trade deal';
- Sir Keir said the Government is 'discussing' the British film industry with Mr Trump's team after he threatened to put 100 per cent tariffs on the sector.
Mr Trump said Britain had been 'a little closed' but was now agreeing to drop obstructions to trade and 'non-tariff barriers'.
He said the UK will be 'fast-tracking American goods through their customs process' so that US exports will go through a 'very, very quick' form of approval.
'There won't be any red tape, things are going to move very quickly both ways,' he said.
Mr Trump added that the 'final details' are still being 'written up'.
'The actual deal is a very conclusive one we think, just about everything has been approved,' the US President said.
Sir Keir said: 'We've always had a fair and balanced arrangement between our countries, this builds on that.
'Hugely important for sectors like car manufacturing, and for steel and aluminium and so many others.
'Yes, we can finish ironing out some of the details but there's a fantastic platform here.'
Mr Trump said: 'The US and UK have been working for years to try and make a deal and it never quite got there.
'It did with this Prime Minister, so I want to just congratulate you.'
Sir Keir said: 'With this President and this Prime Minister we've managed to achieve what many people tried to achieve for many years, and I'm really pleased.'
The PM added: 'It's really good to have got this deal over the line, tribute to both teams, tribute to our countries and tribute to your leadership.'
After Sir Keir hung up on the call, Mr Lutnick claimed the US has 'opened up new market access, ethanol, beef, machinery, all the agricultural products' in the UK.
He added: 'They've agreed to open their markets, and that will add five billion US dollars of opportunity to American exporters.
'So the question is, why would they do that now, because they've never done it before? And we still have a 10 per cent tariff on which will produce six billion US dollars of revenue for the US.
'So the idea was, how did they keep their jobs, protect their economy and do the best for their people, while opening the market for us?'
The UK has 'found the ways to do that so that we have new access, but the UK workers are protected, and that was the balance', Mr Lutnick said in answer to his own question.
In the House of Commons tonight, Tory shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith warned the US-UK agreement is a 'Diet Coke deal, not the real thing'.
'Conservatives do welcome the news of a reduction in selected tariffs on things like automotive exports and steel today,' he told MPs.
'Any reduction is better than no reduction. Jobs and investments were at risk and all mitigation is to be welcomed.
'But... we're still not back to the position as it was at the beginning of February – perhaps he can clarify.
'British goods will still be more expensive in the US than they were before. For all the special relationship, that puts us in the same category of countries as Burundi and Bhutan.
'And more than what's in this deal today is what is not. From the little the government has shared, it's clear that the deal doesn't go anything like far enough. It's a Diet Coke deal, not the real thing.
'It's not the comprehensive free trade agreement that a true plan for growth requires.'
Mr Griffith had earlier told the Commons: 'Unfortunately this is not the historic free trade deal we were promised.'
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds insisted the trade deal does not include any concessions on the digital services tax, the Online Safety Act, or the NHS.
Speaking to reporters in Westminster, Mr Reynolds said: 'Just to be absolutely clear about what is not in this agreement.
'There is nothing in this agreement in relation to online harms or the Online Safety Act.
'There's nothing in this agreement in relation to digital services tax. Nothing in the agreement in relation to the NHS.'
On the government's efforts to reduce or even remove the 10 per cent tariffs Mr Trump has imposed on most goods entering the US, Mr Reynolds added: 'The process by which we will continue the negotiation with the US about those wider tariff lines and the 10 per cent reciprocal tariff continues. There is no deadline for that.'
Mr Reynolds also said: 'I think it is also vindication of the cool, calm, engaged approach we've taken to the US, even though this has been the challenging agenda for every country in the world.'
Speaking at the Jaguar Land Rover plant earlier, Sir Keir said that he had 'discussions last night' with Mr Trump, joking that he was not happy it had been in the middle of Arsenal's match against Paris St Germain.
Asked about any assurances he could give to businesses that the deal would not be ripped up by the US, Sir Keir said: 'We've been negotiating this text for a long time. I had discussions with Donald Trump along the way, including discussions last night, we're clearly in agreement.'
He said that there is 'a written text' that will be available and 'this is an agreement that is absolutely clear'.
Sir Keir added: 'We've worked well together, we respect each other, the President and I, and we trust each other, and have trusted each other through this process.'
The premier acknowledged there was no certainty about the position of the UK film industry yet, following Mr Trump's threat to impose levies on movies made outside America.
'Obviously there aren't any tariffs in place on film at the moment,' he told reporters.
'Of course, we're discussing it with the President's team. We'll take the same approach as we've taken on other issues.
'For me, what matters is acting in the national interest and making sure that everything that we do is good for working people in this country… whether it's steel and aluminium, whether it's car building, whether it's pharmaceuticals or film, we are brilliant in these things.'
Sir Keir seemed to be taken by surprise by Mr Trump publicly teeing up the deal overnight - as his day was earmarked for VE Day commemorations.
Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey praised the news this afternoon as he confirmed a cut to interest rates to help boost the economy.
Mr Bailey said it would help reduce uncertainty, adding: 'I very much welcome it, and very well done to those involved.'
NFU President Tom Bradshaw said the deal was needed 'as a direct result of tariffs introduced by the US administration in April'.
'This is not something anybody wanted,' he said.
'We appreciate the government's efforts in listening to our concerns, particularly around maintaining high standards, protecting sensitive agricultural sectors and securing reciprocal access for beef,' Mr Bradshaw said.
'For several years, we've campaigned with the UK's agricultural attachés in Washington for market access for British beef, a product globally respected for its quality and strong environmental credentials. These efforts have contributed to enabling the UK government to secure ring-fenced access for British beef exports to the US.
'However, the inclusion of a significant volume of bioethanol in the deal raises concerns for British arable farmers. We'll be engaging closely with our members to help them understand and prepare for the potential impact.'
JLR chief executive Adrian Mardell said: 'The car industry is vital to the UK's economic prosperity, sustaining 250,000 jobs.
'We warmly welcome this deal which secures greater certainty for our sector and the communities it supports.'
It is Mr Trump's first trade deal since his so-called 'Liberation Day' trade assault on April 2. He has since delayed, reannounced and overhauled tariffs amid crashing stock markets and concerns over the sustainability of the US debt mountain.
The premiers raised the prospect of a Transatlantic trade deal when they met at the White House in February.
British hopes of escaping the 'baseline' 10 per cent tariffs altogether dwindled during the talks.
The PM had been rushing to seal a pact with America before his big Brexit 'reset', due to be unveiled at a summit with the EU on May 19.
There are concerns that could have enraged Mr Trump, who has claimed the bloc was created to 'screw' the US.
Mr Trump wrote on his Truth Social site last night: 'Big News Conference tomorrow morning at 10:00 A.M., The Oval Office, concerning a MAJOR TRADE DEAL WITH REPRESENTATIVES OF A BIG, AND HIGHLY RESPECTED, COUNTRY. THE FIRST OF MANY!!!'
He added today: '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!'
Lord Mandelson said the deal was 'not the end, it's the end just of the beginning'.
'It also provides us with the platform, the springboard, to do what I think will be even more valuable for both our countries in the future and that's creating a technology partnership between the United States and the United Kingdom so that we can harness science and technology in order to create future industries and future jobs,' he said.
He also cheekily offered Mr Trump a discount on a Rolls Royce car as the President noted up he ended up buying a Tesla at an event with Elon Musk recently.
Sir Keir has repeatedly rejected suggestions that the UK will need to choose between partnerships with Europe or America, saying the national interest 'demands that we work with both'.
Economists have warned that Mr Trump's policies are set to spark a global slowdown and wreak havoc with Chancellor Rachel Reeves' attempts to revive growth.
Brexiteers pointed out that the UK was the first to secure a deal, after former president Barack Obama's notorious warning that Britain would be at the 'back of the queue' if it left the EU.
The announcement comes just two days after the UK said it had agreed a trade deal with India, which Sir Keir hailed as a 'landmark deal'.
Commons Leader Lucy Powell insisted that food standards have been a 'red line' for the Government in the negotiations.
In the House this morning, Conservative MP Mark Pritchard asked for a debate on 'the concerns of British farmers... chlorinated chicken, hormone-fed beef and, of course, antibiotics in pig farming'.
'Can the minister assure the House, assure Shropshire farmers and British farmers that British agriculture is safe with this trade deal?' he said.
Ms Powell replied: 'These issues are still unfolding, but he's absolutely right to praise the work of the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Business and Trade for the amazing work that they've done to get us to this point today.
'But he will be aware that the issues that he raises of food standards and agriculture have been red lines for this Government in those trade talks, and he will get the details later today.'
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