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Britain will hold talks with the US next week to try to speed up implementation of a trade pact between the two sides, amid uncertainty about when American tariff cuts for UK carmakers and steel manufacturers will actually take effect.
The UK-US deal was unveiled on May 8 to great fanfare by the two countries, but British officials admitted they were still working out “timelines” for its implementation.
UK business secretary Jonathan Reynolds wants to accelerate the process next week, when he expects to meet his US counterpart Howard Lutnick at an OECD conference in Paris to discuss “implementation timelines”.
The UK-US accord was the first such deal signed by President Donald Trump after he unveiled his sweeping “reciprocal” tariffs on major trading partners in April.
Under the pact — hailed by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer as essential to saving jobs in the British automobile sector — Trump agreed to cut a 27.5 per cent tariff on cars to 10 per cent for the first 100,000 vehicles shipped from the UK.
Starmer said at the time of the deal that the US had agreed to lower tariffs on UK steel and aluminium exports to zero, but they are currently set at 25 per cent.
A British government spokesperson said: “The UK was the first country to secure a deal with the US in a move that will protect British business and jobs across key sectors, from autos to steel.
“We are working to ensure that businesses can benefit from the deal as quickly as possible and will confirm next steps in due course.”
British officials said the implementation of the US tariff cuts for UK cars and steel still awaited sign-off from Trump, and that they were working with the American side to ensure companies benefit soon.
They added the US “will need to follow due process” on their side, while the British parliament would be presented with the so-called economic prosperity deal and any implementing legislation “in due course”.
A White House spokesperson said: “The Trump administration is working closely with our British counterparts to fully implement the terms of this landmark agreement in short order and expand bilateral trade between our nations.”
They called the deal a “historic win to level the playing field for American workers, farmers, and producers”.
British car industry executives have been seeking clarity on whether the 10 per cent tariff rate can be applied retrospectively from the May 8 announcement of the trade pact.
Jaguar Land Rover had paused shipments to the US in April in response to Trump’s tariffs, but resumed exports earlier this month at the 27.5 per cent rate.
Aston Martin had also been limiting exports of its cars to the US from April, but the company is hoping the tariff uncertainty will be resolved when it resumes shipments in early June, according to people close to the company.
Key stumbling blocks to implementing the zero tariff plan for UK steelmakers include the size of anticipated export quotas to the US, and American concerns over Chinese ownership of British assets.
The UK government in April seized control of British Steel, which is owned by China’s Jingye, in a move aimed at keeping its blast furnaces running.
UK Steel, the trade body, said it needed implementation of the trade pact “as soon as possible”.
“Time is of the essence as UK producers are actively losing orders but it is also critical that this is the right deal for our industry — one that all UK steel producers can benefit from.”
In return for cuts to Trump’s tariffs, the UK granted the US greater market access for beef, ethanol and industrial products.
Sam Lowe, trade lead at consultancy Flint Global, said: “There’s still a lot of uncertainty regarding when the provisions in the US-UK deal will enter into force and what the conditions will be for accessing the tariff-rate quotas, and whether that access will be backdated.”
