U.S.-UK Trade Deal Is A Very Good Thing for British Automakers
President Donald Trump recently met with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, with the pair reaching an agreement that will reduce some of the tariffs’ impacts, especially on the country’s automakers. The new deal will help save jobs at Jaguar Land Rover, Rolls-Royce, Bentley, and others, as it significantly lowers tariffs on vehicles imported from Britain.
The agreement drops tariffs on British cars from 27.5 percent to 10 percent, a move praised by JLR executives. CEO Adrian Mardell said the automaker “warmly welcomed this deal, which secures greater certainty for our sector and the communities it supports.” British automakers can export up to 100,000 vehicles at the 10 percent rate, almost covering the 102,000 vehicles it sent to the U.S. last year.
While this is great news for JLR, the automaker still faces challenges. It builds some models, including the Discovery and Defender, at a plant in Slovakia, meaning they are still subjected to the 27.5 percent tariff. British metal imports will also get a break under the new agreement, potentially saving the industry from collapse.
Trump also seemed to tease a rollback of the tariffs placed on China, saying this morning on Truth Social that an “80% tariff on China seems right! Up to Scott B,” though Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent hasn’t yet announced a change in the China trade policy.
[Images: Land Rover, Rolls-Royce, Bentley]
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Chris grew up in, under, and around cars, but took the long way around to becoming an automotive writer. After a career in technology consulting and a trip through business school, Chris began writing about the automotive industry as a way to reconnect with his passion and get behind the wheel of a new car every week. He focuses on taking complex industry stories and making them digestible by any reader. Just don’t expect him to stay away from high-mileage Porsches.
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Through the lens of history, and many recent events, I observe that UK is the real enemy of US. Here is the small writing from the Brit who agrees with me https://thedavidvance.substack.com/p/is-the-uk-an-ally-or-an-enemy-of
But that ^ just rather small thing. What about chaos Brits brought to US via Hillary Clinton for 2020 election, the Steel Dossier? That should be a casus belli for a war. And most recently, Brits, in their typical fashion (Middle east, China, Pakistan) vacated an Island for US chief adversary - China, near Diego Garcia. So, US will not hold all the strings in the Pacific. MI6 - best covert operations ever.
Do you people actually listen to opinions of Brits? The Herald: "Revealed: How Trump and America put the squeeze on Scottish jobs"