UK-US trade deal: can Keir Starmer trust Donald Trump?
White House insiders say an agreement is 'two weeks' away but can Britain believe it?

There is a "good chance" that the UK and the US could reach a "great" trade agreement, said US Vice President J.D. Vance in an interview with UnHerd. Donald Trump "really loves the United Kingdom".
Of course, the UK has heard this story before but there might be some substance to Vance's overtures, with a White House official telling The Telegraph that an agreement is expected "soon". "Two weeks," he said, before adding, "Or maybe three."
"While this would be a win" for Keir Starmer, said The Spectator, "questions remain over the substance". What would be included in the deal? And, perhaps most importantly, "can we really believe it will happen?"
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
What did the commentators say?
In this post-Brexit world, "an ambitious US-UK economic alliance would not only boost economic growth and prosperity, steering the economy away from recession; it would also be an almost unimaginable political prize for the prime minister himself," said The Independent. Starmer would "achieve what eluded all of his immediate Conservative predecessors". And, with only "the most modest" EU reset in sight, the US deal is "the best prospect available among major economies," especially as efforts with China have "yielded relatively little".
But what kind of "deal" is on the table? asked the BBC's Faisal Islam. Talks this time round have focused on science, tech, and AI cooperation, all "in return for avoiding tariffs". The US has also wanted to talk about the UK's "tech tax" on mainly US digital companies, and has raised issues about the Online Safety Act. Yet Britain faces a 10% "reciprocal tariff" and a 25% levy on cars, despite there being "no US trade deficit". The UK side, therefore, "has much to complain about".
Some sort of agreement may be "in the foothills" but to call this a "trade deal" would be "misleading", said Sky News' Mark Stone. It's more accurately "an 'economic deal' to reduce the tariffs". Still, any agreement would mark "a large step forward for the UK, which has been trying to engage America in closer trade alignment since Brexit".
But some in Westminster "are angsty about any compromises that may be offered up to Trump – or demanded by him" in return for a deal, said Politico's Andrew McDonald. Particularly worrisome is "any move to make it easier for US farmers to sell in the UK". That would be likely to anger British farmers, "who’ve already shown their willingness to storm Whitehall in their tractors".
What next?
Deal or not, let's not "lose sight of the big picture as Trump sees it", said Martin Kettle in The Guardian. Trump's tariff war "aims to obliterate" the global trade system and replace it with "a world trade order based on might is right, as represented by the US".
For Britain, therefore, "a free trade agreement with Trump's US can only be fundamentally defensive. It should be seen as a way of protecting British trade interests." And it is "not the key to unlocking UK prosperity".
Starmer will host an EU-UK summit in London on 19 May, as he "seeks to ease trade barriers with Brussels", said The Times. Experts have cautioned that, by aligning more closely with Brussels, Britain risks being drawn into Trump's trade war with the EU. In the meantime, negotiations with the US continue.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Sorcha Bradley is a writer at The Week and a regular on “The Week Unwrapped” podcast. She worked at The Week magazine for a year and a half before taking up her current role with the digital team, where she mostly covers UK current affairs and politics. Before joining The Week, Sorcha worked at slow-news start-up Tortoise Media. She has also written for Sky News, The Sunday Times, the London Evening Standard and Grazia magazine, among other publications. She has a master’s in newspaper journalism from City, University of London, where she specialised in political journalism.
-
Trump sets new tariff rates as deadline nears
Speed Read New tariff rates for South Korea, Brazil and India announced
-
Ghislaine Maxwell: angling for a Trump pardon
Talking Point Convicted sex trafficker's testimony could shed new light on president's links to Jeffrey Epstein
-
Senate confirms Trump loyalist Bove to top court
Speed Read The president's former criminal defense lawyer was narrowly approved to earn a lifetime seat
-
Ghislaine Maxwell offers testimony for immunity
Speed Read The convicted sex trafficker offered to testify to Congress about her relationship with late boyfriend Jeffrey Epstein
-
Trump contradicts Israel, says 'starvation' in Gaza
Speed Read The president suggests Israel could be doing more to alleviate the suffering of Palestinians
-
The Pentagon's missing missiles
Feature The U.S. military is low on weapons. Can it restock before a major conflict breaks out?
-
Rescissions: Trump's push to control federal spending
Feature The GOP passed a bill to reduce funding for PBS, NPR and other public media stations
-
Knives come out for Pam Bondi
IN THE SPOTLIGHT She wasn't Trump's first pick to lead the Justice Department. After months of scandals and setbacks, is the attorney general's MAGA shelf life winding down?