The US commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, has said that the UK and US will put the recent deal agreed between the countries on tariff reduction into practice in the coming days.
Writing on X following a meeting with UK prime minister, Sir Keir Starmer, in 10 Downing Street, Lutnick said that the “historic trade deal” would be implemented “as soon as possible”.
Quotas agreed on the movement of UK cars, as well as US beef and ethanol, would become “simultaneously active in the coming days”, he added.
‘Delivery’
The news comes as UK government data found that, in April, UK exports to the US trade suffered its largest monthly drop since record began in 1997. In its explanation, the Office for National Statistics said that car and metal exports to the US fell during this period.
In his own post on X, UK business and trade secretary Jonathan Reynolds said the government was “delivering on the UK-US trade deal”.
“Great to meet again with US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick to discuss progress on our trade deal - including UK autos and steel.”
Steel to be decided
Starmer has made engagement with the White House a key part of his plan for reducing the impact of tariffs.
The US-UK Economic Prosperity Deal (EPD), confirmed early last month with a public call between Starmer and US president, Donald Trump, did not remove the baseline 10% tariff rate placed on imports to the US for UK goods.
However, it cut the duty on UK car exports to the US from 27.5% to 10%, while dedicated steel and aluminium tariffs were set to be removed.
UK officials told the FT that the exact details of this latter provision have yet to be ironed out, as UK steel manufacturers await news of zero-tariff access to the US market.
As the Daily Update noted in an explainer following the agreement, the US promised there would instead be a quota on UK steel, but the exact details remained to be ironed out.
‘Ready to go’
Reuters reports that Reynolds has told reporters he is “very hopeful” that he will be able to update further on the deal’s implementation before the end of the week. He said:
“We're ready to go, and as soon as the president and the White House are ready to go on their side, we'll implement [our] part of the deal.”
Concern has been voiced by some in the UK’s bioethanol industry that the deal could negatively affect it by increasing US exporters’ access to the UK market.
AB Foods has called for government support ahead of a decision over whether to close its bioethanol plant in Hull.
Reynolds noted in his remarks to reporters that, while the government is “very sensitive to the ethanol issue”, the UK’s producers are “losing a lot of money already”.
While changes to regulation may be one option, financial government support would require a “clear route to profitability”. He also argued that there are “much wider issues for these partners than just the US trade deal”.
