Overview

• The White House forecasts a UK–US trade deal could be finalized within two to three weeks, following intensive negotiations to remove a 10% tariff on UK goods imposed earlier this month.
• The UK holds firm on protecting food, pharmaceutical, and digital regulation standards, while rejecting US imports of chlorinated chicken and hormone-treated beef.
• The US is pressuring the UK to repeal its Digital Services Tax, which generates £800m annually, as a key concession in the trade agreement.
• The deal is part of a broader US strategy to isolate China by building alliances with key trading partners, with the UK likely in a second wave of agreements after Japan, India, and South Korea.
• UK negotiators, including Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds and Ambassador Lord Mandelson, are balancing domestic priorities with the need to secure tariff relief and expanded trade opportunities.