Trump announces a "big trade deal," likely with the United Kingdom

US President Donald Trump is expected to sign a bilateral trade agreement with his longtime ally, the United Kingdom , in Washington on Thursday, according to the US press, in which the US president refers to a "large and highly respected country" without naming it.

If this "great trade deal," in the words of the Republican president, is actually signed into law at 10:00 a.m. (2:00 p.m. GMT) at the White House today, Thursday, it will be the first since the tempestuous billionaire imposed massive tariffs on imported goods into the United States . Donald Trump, however, maintained prohibitive tariffs on China at a rate of 145%—245% for certain sectors—to which Beijing counterattacked with a rate of 125%.

On his Truth Social account, the White House tenant announced on Wednesday a "major press conference (this Thursday) morning at 10:00 (14:00 GMT), in the Oval Office, concerning a major trade agreement with representatives of a "large and highly respected country." He even praised what would be "the first in a long series" of trade agreements, without being more explicit. According to the New York Times and Politico , it is the United Kingdom.

The Times noted that it was unclear whether a US-UK trade deal had been finalized or whether the two countries would announce a framework for a deal that would be subject to further negotiations.

"Special relationship"

Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Donald Trump had reported "productive negotiations" between their countries, united by 250 years of history and which have forged a "special relationship" diplomatic and economic that has never been truly undermined.

Trade in goods between London and Washington remained balanced in 2024, according to official statistics, with the UK importing £57.1 billion worth of US goods and exporting £59.3 billion worth of them, leaving London relatively unaffected by the "reciprocal" tariffs announced by President Trump on April 2, with a tax of just 10%, the lowest level. The US will be the UK's largest export market in 2024 (£9 billion, 27.4% of exports), outside the European Union .

The UK's trade balance is also very favorable in services, as the country exported £137 billion to the United States last year, compared to £61.2 billion in imports. For the time being, however, this sector remains largely untouched by the trade war launched by Donald Trump.

London and Washington have been negotiating for weeks, hoping that the United Kingdom will remove or mitigate US surcharges in exchange for concessions.

British Chancellor Rachel Reeves held talks with her US counterpart, Scott Bessent , on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) spring meetings in Washington at the end of April. She outlined a series of red lines on car and food standards, online security, and hinted at a possible concession on the £800 million annual tax levied on US digital giants.

Summit with the EU

At the same time, Reeves reiterated the value of the relationship with the EU, stressing that "trade relations with Europe (were) probably even more important" than those with the United States, despite the Brexit divorce, effective January 31, 2020.

Starmer's government said on Wednesday it was willing to consider a youth mobility program with the EU, subject to certain conditions, a request from Brussels it had so far been reluctant to accept.

London will host the presidents of the EU institutions on May 19 , the first summit of its kind since Brexit.

Since his return to power on January 20, Donald Trump has unleashed an economic earthquake, especially with what he himself dubbed Liberation Day on April 2, when he erected a wall of new taxes on imported goods in the United States.

Since then, Donald Trump has partially reversed course, announcing a 90-day pause —until early July—and promising "agreements" with the United States' main partners to ease the cost, none of which have yet been announced.

Talks are underway with several countries, while China and the United States are scheduled to meet this weekend in Switzerland to lay the groundwork for trade negotiations.