Home - News - Britain and the United States have reached an agreement on the terms of the trade agreement: specific industries and a 10% benchmark tariff will be retained
Britain and the United States have reached an agreement on the terms of the trade agreement: specific industries and a 10% benchmark tariff will be retained
May 12, 2025
On May 8th local time, the United Kingdom and the United States reached an agreement on the terms of the tariff trade agreement. The British government agreed to make concessions on the import of American food and agricultural products in exchange for the US reducing tariffs on British car exports. The United States still retains a benchmark tariff of 10%.
Later that day, the British government issued an official statement, saying that the tariffs on British car exports to the United States would be reduced from 27.5% to 10%, and the tariffs on steel and aluminium would be reduced from 25% to zero. This tariff preference will apply to 100,000 British cars, almost covering the entire volume of British exports to the United States last year.
The two sides also reached a new reciprocal access agreement on the beef market. British farmers were granted 13,000 tons of duty-free quotas. Meanwhile, the UK emphasized that standards for imported food would not be relaxed. Furthermore, the UK will reduce the tariff on ethanol from the US for beer production to zero.
It is learned that the negotiations will continue, covering the pharmaceutical industry and other remaining reciprocal tariff items. The United States has agreed that if tariffs are imposed again in the future under the "Section 232" investigation, the United Kingdom will enjoy priority treatment. The digital services tax remains unchanged in this agreement, but the two countries have agreed to launch negotiations on the digital trade agreement.
