US President and UK Prime Minister held “productive negotiations” regarding a US-UK economic deal and said they will “continue at pace,” according to a Downing Street statement.
This comes as the is trying to secure an exemption from on imports into the US beginning April 2 — a day labeled by Trump as “Liberation Day.”
The US recently announced a 25% import tax on all cars imported into the country, which is expected to affect British luxury car makers such as Rolls Royce and Aston Martin.
The levy is on top of a series of tariffs set to be announced on April 2, which could include a general 20% tax on UK products in response to the rate of VAT.
Will the UK retaliate?
Starmer has said the UK “reserves the right” to introduce reciprocal tariffs on the US if a deal to exempt the UK cannot be reached.
But the UK’s Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has warned the impact of imposing reciprocal tariffs on the US would be worse for the UK than allowing the levy to go ahead without response.
The UK has so far not retaliated after the US imposed tariffs on its steel industry.
Successive UK governments have tried to seal a trade deal with the US ever since Britain left the European Union in 2020.
Abolishing or reducing the digital services tax on US big tech firms, including social media companies, search engines and online marketplaces, is reportedly being considered as part of the negotiations.
Edited by: Srinivas Mazumdaru
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