President Trump is expected to announce Thursday morning that the US has reached a trade deal with Britain, according to a report.
The agreement would be the first one the Trump administration has struck with a foreign nation since the president announced plans to impose sweeping tariffs on US trading partners last month.
News of the forthcoming deal was first reported by the New York Times late Wednesday night, citing three people familiar with the plans.
Details of the agreement were not immediately available.
The White House did not respond to The Post’s request for comment.
Trump on Wednesday teased that he would hold a major new conference at the Oval Office on Thursday morning concerning a “major trade deal,” but did not specify which country was involved — only saying it was “big and highly respected.”
“Big News Conference tomorrow morning at 10:00 A.M., The Oval Office, concerning a MAJOR TRADE DEAL WITH REPRESENTATIVES OF A BIG, AND HIGHLY RESPECTED, COUNTRY,” the president wrote on Truth Social.
“THE FIRST OF MANY!!!” he added.
Trump’s so-called “Liberation Day” tariffs – unveiled on April 2 – called for the application of a baseline 10% levy against most countries on April 5, followed by steeper reciprocal tariffs that were planned to take effect on April 9.
The president issued a 90-day pause on the higher rates days after his announcement, claiming that dozens of nations had pleaded for a reprieve in order to revamp trade agreements with the US.
Britain is subject to the 10% baseline tariff, but was not hit with a higher reciprocal rate.
The US ally is also subject to a 25% import fee that Trump slapped on foreign steel, aluminum and automobiles.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent revealed last month that the Trump administration had “lined up” talks with 70 foreign governments seeking to avoid the tariffs.
In addition to Britain – Japan, Australia, India, South Korea, Israel and Vietnam were expected to be the focus of Bessent’s initial trade deal negotiations.
The Trump administration also appears to be nearing deals with India and Israel, according to the New York Times.
Earlier this week, Trump downplayed the necessity for the US to quickly rush into new trade agreements.
“Everyone says ‘When, when, when are you going to sign deals?’” Trump said during an Oval Office meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.
“We don’t have to sign deals. We could sign 25 deals right now, Howard, if we wanted to,” the president continued, referring to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. “We don’t have to sign deals. They have to sign deals with us.”
Bessent, during an interview with Fox News “Ingraham Angle” host Laura Ingraham, described the president’s seemingly ambivalent attitude toward negotiating new trade deals as the “strategic uncertainty” that is necessary to ensure the US gets “ the best deal possible.”
The treasury secretary is slated to take part in high-level meetings with China over the weekend in Switzerland, which will mark the first trade talks between Washington and Beijing since Trump was reelected.
Trump hit China with 145% tariffs over its trade advantage with the US, its role in the American fentanyl crisis, and retaliatory levies the communist nation has imposed on US exports.
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