The UK and US have agreed a trade deal – as Sir Keir Starmer and Donald Trump confirmed the announcement during a phone call broadcast live.
The prime minister was speaking to the US president following hours of speculation as to what would be in the agreement reached with the White House.
It is the first trade deal agreed after Mr Trump began his second presidential term in January, and after he imposed strict tariffs on countries around the world in April.
As part of the deal, the US lowered the 27.5% tariff on British car exports to the US to 10%, affecting 100,000 vehicles each year.
The UK steel and aluminium industries will no longer face any tariffs after they had 25% duties placed on them.
However, there is a still a 10% tariff on most UK goods imported into the US after Mr Trump imposed that duty on most countries’ exports last month.
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Sir Keir said the “first-of-a-kind” deal with the US will save thousands of jobs across the UK, boost British business and protect British industry.
He said it was achieved by not playing politics, and insisted the UK can have good trade relations with both the US and the EU.
The PM said the UK had “red lines” on standards written into the agreement, particularly on agriculture. He has previously said they would not allow chlorinated chicken and hormone-fed beef into the UK.
US agriculture secretary Brooke Rollins said the deal will “exponentially increase our beef exports”, and added: “To be very clear, American beef is the safest, the best quality, and the crown jewel of American agriculture for the world.”
On whether the UK will have to accept all US beef and chicken, Mr Trump said: “They’ll take what they want, we have plenty of it, we have every type, we have every classification you can have.”
Hinting the US will move towards higher welfare practices, he said US health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr “is doing a tremendous job and he’s probably heading toward your system with no chemical, no this, no that”.
Sir Keir said “this is a really fantastic, historic day” that will “boost trade between and across our countries”, while Mr Trump said the agreement would be a “great deal for both countries”.
The president said the deal will make both the UK and the US “much bigger in terms of trade” as he thanked Sir Keir, who he said has been “terrific for his partnership in this matter…we have a great relationship”.
Sir Keir has made a trade deal with the US a key goal of his premiership, with the government wanting to avoid punitive tariffs that will hamper its ambition to grow the economy.
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