For U.K. leader Keir Starmer, completion of a deal sheltering key industries from more aggressive tariffs before other countries would be a vindication of his diplomatic approach of refusing to overtly criticize Trump. (Suzanne Plunkett/Getty Images)
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United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer was set to agree June 16 with President Donald Trump to implement a trade deal announced last month to slash U.S. tariffs on key British exports and raise U.K. quotas on certain American agricultural products, people familiar with the matter said.
The two men will meet at the Group of Seven summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, to finalize the agreement, according to the people, who requested anonymity discussing matters that haven’t been publicly announced. A U.S. official said a proclamation is ready for Trump to sign, while a U.K. official said the leaders were set to enact last month’s agreement.
Trump had heralded the deal as the first struck between the U.S. and a major trading partner following his decision to ratchet up tariffs against countries worldwide, but details were lacking at the time.
For Starmer, completion of a deal sheltering key industries from more aggressive tariffs before other countries would be a vindication of his diplomatic approach of refusing to overtly criticize Trump. For the U.S. president, it’ll be a signal that his tariff war is bearing fruit after winning U.K. concessions on agriculture.
While the two leaders announced the framework of a deal last month, the finer points were left to further negotiation, and nothing has yet been implemented. Under those initial terms, the U.S. agreed to cut tariffs on cars imported from the U.K. to 10% from 27.5% for the first 100,000 vehicles each year, and drop levies on steel to zero from 25%. In return, the U.K. vowed to increase tariff-free quotas on U.S. beef and ethanol.
“We will be talking about our trade deal because that really matters for the vital sectors that are safeguarded under our deal,” Starmer told reporters in Kananaskis earlier in the day. “We’re in the final stages now of implementation, and I expect that to be completed very soon.”
While the document agreed in May indicated U.S. tariffs on U.K. steel would go down to zero, it still remains unclear what tariffs will apply. The U.K. is currently the only country to avoid the 50% tariff on steel that Trump announced last month, but the final terms could depend on the U.K.’s ability to ease U.S. concern over the Chinese ownership of British Steel.
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