Trump announces trade pact with U.K.

President Donald Trump on Thursday announced a new trade pact with Britain that he touted as likely to be just the first of many agreements with countries around the world, as the administration races to mitigate the damage from its global trade war.

Joined in the Oval Office by several of his top advisers and the new British ambassador to Washington, Trump praised the deal and said it would lower trade restrictions for U.S. exporters while bringing the two countries into closer economic alignment.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and other administration officials said the deal would create $5 billion in economic opportunities for U.S. exports, saying Britain had agreed to step up purchases of ethanol, beef, planes and other products while lowering tariffs and other domestic restrictions. Trump said the 10 percent minimum tariff he applied to all countries would remain in effect on Britain, but that certain British exports — such as automobiles — would be spared higher tariffs on those products. Jet engines and plane parts will also be subject to reduced tariffs, and the countries will agree to lower tariffs on steel and aluminum as they work to parry cheap Chinese imports.

“Things are going to move very quickly both ways,” Trump said. “It’s so good for both countries.”

But experts say major headwinds remain. The United States currently has more than 145 percent tariffs on China, one of its biggest trading partners, and prospects for a quick resolution appear remote. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is expected to travel to Switzerland this weekend for talks with his Chinese counterparts, and experts have said the convulsions from the global trade shock are continuing to ripple through the economy.

Caption from article by Jeff Stein, Natalie Allison and Michael Birnbaum