UK US trade deal: What will be included in Donald Trump's deal? When will the deal get announced?

US President Donald Trump is poised to announce a “major trade deal” with the UK later today.

Only a month after US trade tariffs began, UK officials will be hoping they can avoid higher taxes on key exports to the US such as steel and cars.

The Scotsman takes a look at what could be included in this trade deal, and what to expect to happen today.

US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer hold a joint press conference in the East Room at the White House. PIC: Carl Court/PA Wire | Carl Court/Press Association

When will the deal get announced?

Mr Trump says he is going to hold a press conference in the Oval Office at 10am Washington time (3pm UK time).

In announcing this, he said the conference is “concerning a major trade deal with representatives of a big, highly respected country. The first of many!” - it is understood this refers to the UK.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has also said he will be making a statement on a trade deal this afternoon.

What is the UK hoping to get out of the deal?

Mainly, the UK will be looking to get an exemption from Mr Trump’s 25 per cent levies on steel, aluminium and car imports.

Around 5 per cent of all UK steel exports and 6 per cent of aluminium exports go to the US, and cars are the UK’s number one export to the US, worth around £9 billion a year.

Last month Jaguar Land Rover suspended its exports to the US- it sold 100,000 vehicles to the US in 2024.

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What about the tech giants?

US negotiators are trying to win concessions on the UK’s digital services tax in this deal.

This 2 per cent taxis paid by overseas search engines and social media sites on revenues made in the UK and raises around £800 million a year.

Harrods became the latest high-profile UK retailer to fall victim to hacking last week, after a serious ransomware attack on Marks & Spencer forced the company to suspend online orders and halt recruitment. The Co-op Group was also targeted, prompting it to shut down parts of its IT infrastructure. (Photo by Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire)

Should the US succeed in lowering tariffs, it would be a major boost to American firms such as Amazon, Meta and Google’s owner Alphabet.

However it is also speculated that if a lower deal for the US is secured, the tax would be applied to companies from other countries to make up the shortfall - meaning the tax would still bring in £800m annually.

READ MORE: Was the India trade deal a politically prudent one for Labour and Keir Starmer to make?

What are the red lines?

Food - both Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds have ruled out lowering food standards to allow more US agricultural products into the UK.

This comes after fears were raised that a trade deal would open the door to hormone-injected beef and chlorinated chicken being on the menu.

it is now a legal requirement for all bird keepers across Northumberland to keep their birds housed – whether they have pet birds, commercial flocks or just a few birds in a backyard flock. Photo: Getty Images. | Getty Images

However, Sky News is reporting the UK has agreed to give concessions on import terms on agriculture products in a bid to get concessions of their own for the car industry.

The UK Government has also reportedly offered lower tariffs on American chicken, beef and other meats.

Another red line is likely to be any watering down of the UK Online Safety Act, which some Americans worry restricts freedom of speech.

What will not happen with this deal?

Today’s deal is unlikely to result in any changes to the baseline 10 per cent tariffs on all imports to the US being lifted.

What else could be impacted?

There will be plenty of other UK industries watching the statements from the US President and UK Prime Minister closely, as they are still in the dark on whether they will be impacted.

One such industry is film - Mr Trump has threatened a 100 per cent tariff on film made outside America, which the Prime Minister has warned would devastate film and TV production in the UK.

British officials have however been locked out of talks to get an exemption on this.

Officials have also been trying to get an exemption on the potential 25 per cent tariff on pharmaceuticals, which would impact on UK giants such as GlaxoSmithKline and AstraZeneca.

What about whisky?

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves holding a whisky glass during a visit to the Glenkinchie Whisky Distillery in Tranent, East Lothian to mark the UK-India trade deal. Picture: Andrew Milligan/PA Wire | Andrew Milligan/Press Association

Without a trade deal, Scotch whisky distilleries face a 25 per cent levy on its exports to America.

READ MORE: UK and India agree trade deal in 'transformational' boost for Scotch whisky

During Mr Trump’s first term in the White House, distilleries were hit with a 25 per cent tariff on single malt whiskies between 2019 and 2021 - this cost the industry around $6m a day in lost sales.