U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and U.S. President Donald Trump at a joint press conference in the East Room at the White House on Feb. 27, 2025, in Washington, D.C.
Carl Court | Getty Images News | Getty Images
U.S. President Donald Trump signaled the U.K. could broker a “real trade deal” and escape tariffs amid ongoing negotiations sweetened by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Thursday visit to the White House.
When asked during a joint press briefing whether Starmer had convinced Trump to avoid additional levies on Britain, Trump said, “He tried! He was working hard, I’ll tell you that. He earned whatever the hell they pay him over there. But, he tried … I think there is a very good chance that in the case of these two great friendly countries, I think we could end up with a real trade deal that … where the tariffs wouldn’t be necessary. We’ll see.”
The Washington leader stressed that he was “very receptive” to the overtures of Starmer — whom he repeatedly lauded as “very, very special person” and a “very tough” negotiator — and noted that the two countries could arrive at “a deal that could be terrific.”
“I think we’ll have something, maybe even, in terms of possibilities, agreed to very shortly,” Trump said.
Yet Trump and Starmer’s comments on a potential deal “could mean anything,” at this point, Stefan Koopman, senior market economist at Rabobank, said in a note on Friday.
“It most likely points to some arrangement to avoid tariffs and increase cooperation in certain sectors,” he added. “At the very least, it kicks the can down the road and saves the UK from tariffs. For today, at least,” Koopman said.
No divide
The warm rapprochement with the U.K. stands in sharp contrast with Trump’s otherwise punitive tariff-led approach to redefining the U.S.’ trade relationships globally since his return to the Oval Office in January. The Washington leader earlier on Thursday revealed plans to impose proposed 25% levies on imports from Mexico and Canada on March 4 after a one-month suspension of the initiative. He also announced that China — assiduously targeted on trade during Trump’s first mandate — will face an additional 10% in duties on the same date next week.
Trump advocates tariffs as a means to reshape commercial relations, eliminate trade deficits and promote domestic manufacturing. But analysts warn that the U.S. consumer could end up picking up the tab, by way of higher prices on goods and the potential heating of inflation in the world’s largest economy.
“We’ve been treated very unfairly in trade,” Trump said Thursday, noting that this applied to “friend and foe” alike.
Amid the increase in tensions, Trump has also threatened tariffs on the U.S.’ longstanding transatlantic partners, leaving the European Union and the U.K. in a diplomatic race to avoid such measures.
In a Thursday escalation, the U.S. president said the European bloc, whose roots date back to the 1993 enforcement of the Maastricht Treaty, was ” formed in order to screw the United States … that’s the purpose of it, and they’ve done a good job of it.” In response, the EU Commission noted that the bloc had benefitted the U.S. in the past.
Starmer, whose White House charm offensive included a letter from Britain’s King Charles inviting Trump on an unprecedented second state visit to the U.K., struck a conciliatory tone on Thursday, saying the two leaders had “had a really good discussion, a productive discussion, a good discussion” on trade.
“I think you’re trying to find a divide between us that doesn’t exist,” the British prime minister told reporters, noting: “Our trading relationship is not just strong, it’s fair, balanced and reciprocal.”
U.S. trade with the U.K. has been balanced on average, seesawing between surplus and deficit in recent years and leading British Finance Minister Rachel Reeves to reassure in late January that her country is “not part of the problem” for Washington.
Penny Mordaunt, former U.K. defense secretary and member of the main opposition Conservative party, on Friday told CNBC that it was “good” for the U.S. and Britain to be conversing on trade again.
Mordaunt noted that, despite the stalling of previous talks about a federal level trade deal, the U.K. had continued engagement and formed agreements with individual U.S. states.
“So we have a really good understanding about what businesses need on a state-by-state basis. We’re in a good position to think about what sort of economic agreements would really help both of our businesses open up more of our markets to each other,” she said.
Ukraine in focus
The two heads of states’ Thursday talks also touched on a second key concern for Trump — accelerating the denouement of the war in Ukraine and European proactivism in increasing defense spending. In that vein, he congratulated Britain’s Tuesday announcement that it will increase its defense contributions to 2.5% of the national gross domestic product from April 2027 — exceeding the formal 2% NATO target many allies have struggled to meet.
“In this new era, you’re also right that Europe must step up,” Starmer said.
Trump, who has vexed Western allies by quickly reinstating discussions with a previously isolated Russia, on Thursday stressed that Washington was laying the groundwork for a “longtime peace agreement” between Kyiv and Moscow and is hoping for a ceasefire as part of next steps.
The Conservative Party’s Mordaunt told CNBC Friday that she believed progress was being made, but also suggested that critical questions were still unanswered.
“I think we’re getting there,” she said when asked if she believed a peace deal for Ukraine was close. “It’s good to see the conditions for this war to end [are] actually being created. The key thing is, do we have enough to deter Russia’s future expansionist aggression,” Mordaunt said.
She added that Europe still had “a fair way to go to step up and demonstrate that,” saying that she believed the UK’s increase in defense spending still does not go far enough.
European allies have questioned whether Washington’s expedited negotiations and warm Kremlin diplomacy could result in an unfavorable or unilateral peace deal that could force Ukraine into territorial concessions.
In the interim, the White House leader has also prioritized raking in returns for the U.S.’ military and foreign aid contributions to Kyiv since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.
Trump said his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy would visit the White House on Friday to sign a deal on critical rare earth minerals. Zelenskyy, separately, described this “framework agreement” as underpinning plans to create a joint investment fund in the U.S., in which Ukraine would pour 50% of revenues reaped from the future monetization of its natural resource assets.
“We’ll be signing a historic deal that will make the United States a major partner in developing Ukraine’s minerals and rare earths and oil and gases,” Trump reassured on Thursday. “We’ll be digging, dig-dig-digging. Dig we must.”
