[CTC] Trump, Starmer announce US-UK trade talks

Fri Feb 28 06:48:18 PST 2025

Trump, Starmer announce bilateral economic talks
By  David LaRoss <https://insidetrade.com/authors/David-LaRoss>  / February 27, 2025 at 5:23 PM
Inside US Trade
President Trump and United Kingdom Prime Minister Kier Starmer on Thursday announced their teams are working on an economic deal focused focus on “advanced technologies” and trade -- an agreement Trump said might avert new tariffs on imports from the UK.
During a joint Feb. 27 press conference <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJSaNSSj_4c>, Starmer used his opening remarks to tout the two countries’ close trade and political relationship and said, “we’ve decided today to go further -- to begin work on a new economic deal, with advanced technologies at its core,” later mentioning artificial intelligence as one of those priorities.
He also said “our trade relationship is not just strong -- it’s fair, balanced, and reciprocal,” referencing Trump’s growing push <https://insidetrade.com/node/182407> for “reciprocal” tariffs with countries where the U.S. has a trade deficit.
While Starmer repeatedly described the potential agreement as “economic” in nature, Trump said the negotiations would deal with trade. “We’ve had great discussions on trade, and I think we’re going to have a deal done rather quickly, as quickly as it can be done,” he said in response to a question on a timeline for the talks.
Answering a later question on whether Starmer had convinced him not to impose new tariffs on the UK, Trump said “he tried. I think that there’s a very good chance with these two great countries that we could very well end up with a real trade deal where the tariffs wouldn’t be necessary. We’ll see.”
Finally, he closed the press conference -- which primarily focused on Ukraine peace talks -- by saying, “I think we’re going to have two deals; I think we’re going to have a deal on ending the war, and I think we’re going to end up with a great trade deal with you.”
Trump also said “JD and Scott and Howard” were working on the negotiations, referring to Vice President JD Vance, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. He did not mention Jamieson Greer, the newly confirmed <https://insidetrade.com/node/182444> U.S. Trade Representative, or his agency.
U.S-UK trade talks began during Trump’s first term, but the Biden administration did not continue them. Instead, it pursued broader economic discussions that did not include market-access negotiations, though the UK government continued to campaign for a traditional FTA. The UK also struck non-binding deals with several U.S. states.
In the days before Starmer’s visit, members of Congress from both parties reintroduced legislation <https://insidetrade.com/node/182456> that would direct the president to “seek to initiate negotiations with the United Kingdom regarding tariff and nontariff barriers affecting any industry, product, or service sector.”
Ahead of the meeting between Trump and Starmer, a senior administration official told reporters the two leaders could discuss economic issues in addition to Ukraine. “Certainly, economic ties between the UK and the U.S. would be discussed -- the ways we can work together on things like AI or energy,” the official said, previewing Starmer’s announcement that such technologies would be at the “core” of negotiations. -- David LaRoss(dlaross at iwpnews.com <mailto:dlaross at iwpnews.com>)
Lawmakers reup bill to launch FTA talks with the UK
By Hannah Monicken | Feb. 27 , 2025
Inside US Trade

Lawmakers in both chambers have reintroduced a bill that would direct the president to initiate comprehensive free trade agreement negotiations with the United Kingdom.

The bill was introduced ahead of UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s meeting with President Trump on Thursday.

The “Undertaking Negotiations on Investment and Trade for Economic Dynamism (UNITED) Act <https://insidetrade.com/sites/insidetrade.com/files/documents/2025/feb/wto2025_0134a.pdf>,” introduced by Reps. Adrian Smith (R-NE) and Jim Himes (D-CT) in the House and Sens. Jerry Moran (R-KS) and Chris Coons (D-DE) in the Senate, would give the U.S. Trade Representative the authority to negotiate a comprehensive trade deal, in consultation with Congress, with the UK. The bill was first introduced during the previous Congress <https://insidetrade.com/node/176956>.

Smith, who chairs the House Ways & Means trade subcommittee, noted that Trump in his first term launched such talks with the UK, which subsequently weren’t continued by the Biden administration.

“Congress should do everything possible to keep pace and empower [Trump’s] vigorous engagement. The UNITED Act is a bipartisan effort to move into the future of rules-based trade relations by promoting expanded access to international markets eager for our products and safeguarding American innovation,” he said in a statement <https://insidetrade.com/sites/insidetrade.com/files/documents/2025/feb/wto2025_0134b.pdf>.

All four lawmakers in the same statement argued that the UK is an ideal partner for such negotiations, citing shared history and a “special relationship.”

“A comprehensive free trade agreement with the United Kingdom would advance both countries’ strategic and economic interests,” Coons added.

The reintroduction comes as Starmer is in Washington to meet with his U.S. counterpart. A senior administration official told reporters ahead of the Thursday meeting that economic issues were on the table and reiterated the administration’s commitment to “reciprocal and equal trade.”

“Certainly, economic ties between the UK and the U.S. would be discussed – the ways we can work together on things like [artificial intelligence] or energy,” the official said.

“We would want any economic relationship with the UK to be based on reciprocal and equal trade, in a reciprocal and equal trading relationship,” the official added. “So with that as the overall umbrella, we would certainly look at ways to deepen our partnership on economic issues.”

The UNITED Act directs the president to “seek to initiate negotiations with the United Kingdom regarding tariff and nontariff barriers affecting any industry, product, or service sector” within 180 days of the law’s implementation, according to the bill text. The authority would lapse on March 1, 2029.

The bill also would direct the executive branch to consult with Congress “before and throughout negotiations.” It cites the Trade Promotion Authority law that expired in 2021, saying that any agreement forged under this proposed bill would have to adhere to TPA’s congressional consultation and implementation provisions.

The text also includes “sense of Congress” language stating that the U.S. “should pursue more open trade and investment relationships with its allies.” And it identifies the UK as an ideal partner for such talks, citing the longstanding economic relationship and the ability to set high standards on issues like labor, the environment, intellectual property and non-market practices, among others.

The lawmakers touted the bill as bipartisan, though additional co-sponsors were not available as of press time. The 2023 version of the bill didn’t have any Democratic sponsors beyond Himes and Coons. In the Senate, Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) was a co-sponsor of the 2023 bill while its companion in the House had four additional Republican lawmakers on board. -- Hannah Monicken (hmonicken at iwpnews.com <mailto:hmonicken at iwpnews.com>)

Arthur Stamoulis
Citizens Trade Campaign
(202) 494-8826

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