What's in the US-UK trade deal? A broad agreement with limited details

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What's in the US-UK trade deal? A broad agreement with limited details

2025-05-09 03:17 Last Updated At：03:20

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration announced a trade deal with the United Kingdom Thursday in grandiose terms, but with only limited details about what it will achieve.

The agreement will open up the British market to American beef, ethanol, and other agricultural products, the White House said. It will also allow British cars and steel better access to U.S. consumers.

The pact provides some support for President Donald Trump’s arguments that his steep tariffs could lead to agreements that open up overseas markets. But economists' initial reactions were cool, with many noting that the United Kingdom isn't a large enough trading partner for the U.S. to really move the needle for the U.S. economy.

“It's more symbolic than economic,” Beata Caranci, chief economist at the bank TD Economics, said in an email. “What we have learned is that these initial announcements are going to be more fine-tuning around the edges and easing of pain points, rather than an end to the trade war.”

Trump said in the Oval Office Thursday that additional details will be worked out in the "coming weeks." But in a fact sheet the administration said the deal is “historic” and “a great deal for America.”

U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said the deal would protect thousands of auto jobs and stressed the importance of the relationship between the two countries.

The U.K. is the United States' fourth largest export market, though has received just 4.5% of U.S. exports this year.

—The United States will maintain the 10% duty on nearly all imports from the U.K., which Trump imposed April 2. Many economists had hoped that the tariff would be dropped as part of any trade deal, but Trump suggested that the 10% universal duty was likely to be a floor in any future talks with other countries.

—The U.S. will cut its tariffs on car imports from the U.K. to 10% from 27.5%, according to the U.K. government, but only up to 100,000 cars. The U.K. exported 92,000 cars to the U.S. in 2024, which means the U.K. auto industry won't be able to boost its shipments without paying higher duties.

—U.K. steel exports will enter the U.S. duty-free, rather than face the 25% tariff the White House has placed on imported steel.

—The two countries have agreed to greater market access for each other's beef, with both nations able to export 13,000 metric tons of beef to each others' countries.

—The U.K. will eliminate its tariff on ethanol from the U.S., up to 1.4 billion liters.

—The U.S. will lift all duties on airplane engines and other aerospace parts from the U.K.'s Rolls Royce. In return, a U.K. airline will soon announce the purchase of $10 billion in planes from Boeing.

—The U.K. will reduce its average tariff on U.S. goods to 1.8%, which would amount to a $200 million cut in duties, the British government said. The U.K. will also lower import taxes on about 2,500 U.S. products including olive oil, wine and sports equipment.

—The U.K. will “reduce or eliminate” non-tariff barriers to U.S. exports, the White House said, though it did not provide details. The agreement creates opportunities for $5 billion in new exports of U.S. agricultural and other goods, according to the administration's fact sheet.

—The agreement does not provide U.S. companies any additional access to the U.K.'s government-run national health service.

—There also aren't any changes on the U.K.'s digital services tax, which hits U.S. tech giants such as Amazon, Alphabet's Google, and Facebook parent Meta. Trump has strongly criticized the tax. The U.K. government said, however, that the two nations have agreed to negotiate on a digital trade deal.

—Trump said the deal did not exempt the U.K. from the 100% tariffs on foreign-made films he has proposed.

—Negotiations are still ongoing in areas such as pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, critical minerals, copper and lumber, a British trade official said.

Journalists in Bangladesh demand protection amid rising attacks

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Journalists, editors and owners of media outlets in Bangladesh on Saturday demanded that authorities protect them following recent attacks on two leading national dailies by mobs.

They said the media industry in the South Asian country is being systematically targeted in the interim government headed by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus. They said the administration failed to prevent attacks on the Daily Star, the country’s leading English-language daily, and the Prothom Alo, the largest Bengali-language newspaper, both based in Dhaka, the capital.

In December, angry mobs stormed the offices of the two newspapers and set fire to the buildings, trapping journalists and other staff inside, shortly after the death of a prominent Islamist activist.

The newspaper authorities blamed the authorities under the interim government for failing to adequately respond to the incidents despite repeated requests for help to disperse the mobs. Hours later, the trapped journalists who took shelter on the roof of the Daily Star newspaper were rescued. The buildings were looted. A leader of the Editors Council, an independent body of newspaper editors, was manhandled by the attackers when he arrived at the scene.

On the same day, liberal cultural centers were also attacked in Dhaka.

It was not clear why the protesters attacked the newspapers, whose editors are known to be closely connected with Yunus. Protests had been organized in recent months outside the offices of the dailies by Islamists who accused the newspapers of links with India.

On Saturday, the Editors Council and the Newspapers Owners Association of Bangladesh jointly organized a conference where editors, journalist union leaders and journalists from across the country demanded that the authorities uphold the free press amid rising tensions ahead of elections in February.

Nurul Kabir, President of the Editors Council, said attempts to silence media and democratic institutions reflect a dangerous pattern.

Kabir, also the editor of the English-language New Age daily, said unity among journalists should be upheld to fight such a trend.

“Those who want to suppress institutions that act as vehicles of democratic aspirations are doing so through laws, force and intimidation,” he said.

After the attacks on the two dailies in December, an expert of the United Nations said that mob attacks on leading media outlets and cultural centers in Bangladesh were deeply alarming and must be investigated promptly and effectively.

“The weaponization of public anger against journalists and artists is dangerous at any time, and especially now as the country prepares for elections. It could have a chilling effect on media freedom, minority voices and dissenting views with serious consequences for democracy,” Irene Khan said in a statement.

Yunus came to power after former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled the country amid a mass uprising in August, 2024. Yunus had promised stability in the country, but global human rights groups including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have blamed the government for its failure to uphold human and other civil rights. The Yunus-led regime has also been blamed for the rise of the radicals and Islamists.

Dozens of journalists are facing murder charges linked to the uprising on the grounds that they encouraged the government of Hasina to use lethal weapons against the protesters. Several journalists who are known to have close links with Hasina have been arrested and jailed under Yunus.