UK smartly secured early deal, says US Treasury Secy Scott Bessent

The United Kingdom “smartly secured an early trade deal” with the United States, said US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on July 13.

Bessent mentioned that UK’s swift actions to negotiate with US President Donald Trump helped it to make a “fair and durable deal” in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

He added that he has told the major trading partners of the US in April that with President Trump, “usually the first person who makes a deal makes the best deal.”

Bessent congratulated the UK trade team and leadership for securing the fair and long-lasting deal for the American and British people.

Bessent also outlined a suggestion for other countries who are negotiating with the US for trade agreements in wake of the Trump’s tariffs treats.

The U.K. Trade Team smartly secured an early deal.

As I told our major trading partners in April, with @POTUS “usually the first person who makes a deal makes the best deal.”

Congratulations to U.K. leadership for working with us to secure a fair and durable deal for the…

— Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (@SecScottBessent) July 12, 2025

“Earnest, good faith negotiations can produce powerful results that benefit both sides of the table, while correcting the imbalances that plague global trade,” Bessent wrote.

US-UK trade deal 

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and US President Trump reached an agreement in June last month, to slash US tariffs on key British exports and raise UK quotas on certain American agricultural products.

Trump signed an executive order that exempted the UK’s civil aerospace aircraft sector from Trump’s baseline 10% country-by-country tariffs in a significant tariff relief measure. UK auto exports also saw US tariffs being slashed to 10% from 27.5% on an annual quota of 100,000 vehicles.

Read more: 30% US tariff on European goods threatens to shake up key trade relationship

On steel, the US agreed to exempt the UK up to a certain quota that has not yet been set. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick will determine that quota of products that can enter the US without being subject to the 25% tariffs, a White House official said, as per Bloomberg.