The UK has secured a landmark trade agreement with the United States that will immediately eliminate tariffs on British steel and aluminium exports, offering a lifeline to industries that have faced steep barriers to the US market and safeguarding thousands of jobs across the country.

The breakthrough deal, the first UK-US trade agreement of its kind, also delivers sweeping benefits to British carmakers, with export tariffs slashed from 27.5% to 10% for up to 100,000 vehicles annually—nearly the entire volume of UK cars shipped to the US last year. 

The reduction is expected to save hundreds of millions of pounds for firms like Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), and marks a major fulfilment of Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s pledge to protect British manufacturing.

Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, said: “The new global era demands a government that steps up, not stands aside. 

“This historic deal delivers for British business and British workers protecting thousands of British jobs in key sectors including car manufacturing and steel. 

“My government has put Britain at the front of the queue because we want to work constructively with allies for mutual benefit rather than turning our back on the world.

“As VE Day reminds us, the UK has no greater ally than the United States, so I am delighted that eight decades on, under President Trump the special relationship remains a force for economic and national security. 

“This is jobs saved, jobs won but not job done and our teams will continue to work to build on this agreement. 

“My Government is determined to go further and faster to strengthen the UK’s economy, putting more money in working people’s pockets as part of our Plan for Change.”