How to land a trade deal with Trump
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President Trump points at a reporter while standing with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. Photo: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
The UK has a tip for allies angling for a trade deal with President Trump: turn on the charm offensive and say "no" nicely.
Why it matters: The UK is the first to de-escalate trade tensions and win relief for its domestic industries in the Trump tariff era.
The intrigue: Its special relationship with the U.S. put the country in a good starting position for talks, a status unavailable for most others.
- But a British official says negotiators maintained a level of cool that helped keep trust with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who led talks.
What they're saying: "We British are not oscillators," a British official said Thursday.
- "We don't say one minute, 'you're our great friends and we're your surest allies,' and then the next minute start name calling, distancing and saying, 'Well, actually, we're going to air off in a slightly different direction today.'"
The big picture: UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer mastered the charm during his first visit to Washington earlier this year, with a letter from King Charles offering to host Trump for a second state visit.
- It helps that the UK buys more U.S. goods than it sells, though that trade surplus did not spare it from the universal 10% tariff announced last month.
- Unlike the EU, which announced plans to draw up retaliatory tariffs, the UK was hesitant to retaliate.
Driving the news: The UK's charm offensive was on display Thursday, as Starmer thanked Trump — who he called "Donald" — for his leadership and how his team negotiated the deal.
State of play: In negotiating talks, the UK was firm — but not hot-headed — at the start about the areas in which it would not budge, according to the British official.
- One example: it was not willing to relax its food safety standards, which would lessen restrictions for U.S. exporters.
- British negotiators were happy to talk about it, but noted any talks were not going to change their position.
- "We don't lose our patience. We don't get cross. We just say no — nicely, charmingly," the British official said.
What to watch: Officials see the Trump trade deal as the beginning of deeper ties between the two nations, with strong interest in AI and technology partnerships.
- The UK hopes it won't get caught in a raft of other tariffs planned by the Trump administration, including on pharmaceuticals.
The bottom line: The baseline tariff on UK imports remains at 10%, though the British official was confident the effective tariff rate would ultimately be lower "if we continue to negotiate as we intend to do."
