Disappointing' US trade deal will do little to boost UK's GDP, experts warn

SIR Keir Starmer was dealt a blow yesterday as economists warned that the UK's trade agreement with the US was unlikely to significantly boost growth.

- Steph Spyro

The deal removes tariffs on UK steel and aluminium imports to the US and cuts the levy on cars from 27.5% to 10%, offering luxury carmakers like Jaguar Land Rover a reprieve.

But the National Institute of Economic and Social Research said the benefit to UK gross domestic product would be minimal.

This is because a blanket 10% tariff imposed on most imports by Donald Trump as part of his "Liberation Day" announcement remains in place, though talks are ongoing in a UK effort to ease it.

Ben Caswell, the institute's senior economist, said: "While the new trade deal with the US constitutes a political win for the Government, the direct impacts on UK GDP are likely to be very small, given we export just £9billion of cars to the US each year and the vast majority of goods won't benefit from this tariff relief announcement." But Mr Caswell added that it would "deliver a welcome boost to business confidence amid the fragile economic outlook this year".

The final details of the deal are still to be decided, but the agreement on steel and vehicle tariffs is expected imminently.

The UK-US trade deal was urgently needed to protect as many as 150,000 livelihoods, Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said.