Starmer and Trump agree talks on UK-US trade deal will continue ‘at pace'

Starmer aims to negotiate before Trump’s “Liberation Day,” when he claims his planned tariffs will reduce reliance on foreign goods and boost the US economy, ITV News Political Correspondent Harry Horton reports

Keir Starmer and Donald Trump have discussed “productive negotiations” towards a UK-US economic prosperity deal and agreed these will “continue at pace,” Downing Street said.

The UK is seeking an exemption from tariffs on all imports to the US. Negotiations are said to be intense, with moves to decrease or even abolish a British tax on US tech giants among the key bargaining points.

The Prime Minister and President spoke by phone for 20 minutes on Sunday night and “agreed to stay in touch in the coming days”.

A government source told ITV News that Trump remains “unpredictable” and it is uncertain whether a deal will be reached.

Earlier on Sunday, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the UK is “clearly disappointed” with the introduction of new tariffs by the US after Trump announced a 25% import tax would be introduced on all cars imported by America.

The measure is expected to hit British luxury carmakers such as Rolls-Royce and Aston Martin, and is on top of a series of reciprocal tariffs set to come into effect on April 2, which could include a general 20% tax on UK products in response to the rate of VAT.

Trump has branded April 2 as “Liberation Day” for America, claiming his planned tariffs will reduce reliance on foreign goods and boost the US economy.

The new trade taxes could however be make or break for the Government’s plans to grow the economy.

Starmer has warned that Britain “reserves the right” to impose reciprocal tariffs if if a deal to exempt the UK cannot be reached.

But the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has warned that retaliatory tariffs would hurt the UK more than accepting the US levy.

The Home Secretary made the comments after President Donald Trump said he would be imposing more tariffs on goods imported into the US

“We want to see a reduction in the barriers to trade, not an increase of barriers to trade,” Cooper said.

“Nobody wants to see a trade war escalate across the world, that’s not good for the world economy as well as for any individual country,” she added.

She reiterated Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ comments that there are “intense conversations” ongoing with the US administration, and said the UK government would “always act in the national interest”.

The new trade taxes came into force just after Rachel Reeves made a series of spending cuts at the spring statement in order to restore a narrow buffer for her public spending plans.