‘Jobs saved, jobs won, but not job done’: Keir Starmer heralds US-UK trade deal

Prime Minister Keir Starmer has heralded a new trade deal between the UK and the United States, which will see American tariffs reduced in exchange for greater market access to US goods.

The deal sees tariffs removed on UK steel and aluminium and cuts the tariff rate on most car exports to just ten percent. In exchange, the UK has agreed “reciprocal market access on beef” and will remove tariffs on ethanol for American goods.

It is the first deal of its kind struck with the US since ‘Liberation Day’, when the Trump administration imposed tariffs on almost all nations across the world.

In a press conference after the announcement at a Jaguar-Land Rover plant in Solihull, Starmer said: “The great challenge of our age is to secure and to renew Britain, and that is what we’re going to do – acting in the national interest, shaping this new era – not being shaped by it.

“We’re sending a message to the world that Britain is open for business, seeking trade agreements with India on Tuesday, with the US today, and working to boost trade with other partners too. Making deals that benefit working people.

“This is just the start. With the deal we’ve done today, we can say jobs saved, jobs won, not job done – because we’re more ambitious for what the US and the UK can do together.”

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However, when taking questions form the press, the Prime Minister avoided a question about whether the UK will still be worse off due to the Trump administration’s tariffs.

In a separate press conference in the Oval Office, President Trump said some “final details” of the deal are still being written up and praised the agreement as a “maxed-out deal”.

Trump said: “Both countries have agreed that the economic security is national security, and we’ll be working together as allies to ensure that we have a strong industrial base, appropriate export controls and protections for key technologies and industries like steel.”

Alasdair McDiarmid, assistant general secretary at Community, a union that represents workers in the steel industry, said that the deal would protect jobs in the UK and provided “much-needed certainty”.

“The UK government deserves enormous credit for negotiating this deal to reduce US tariffs which would have had a hugely damaging impact on our steel sector.

“Following on from the decisive action taken at British Steel last month, today’s news again demonstrates the Labour government’s firm commitment to delivering for our steel industry.

“We will continue to work with the government to deliver for our members and secure a vibrant UK steel industry for the future.”

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