Trump tariffs latest: JD Vance says good chance of UK trade deal and praises Britain

The U.K’s FTSE 100 index has surged this morning following comments from vice president J.D. Vance that there was a “good chance” of a tariff deal with the U.K.

Ahead of lunchtime in U.K trading the stock was up 1 percent, building on Monday’s strong gains to take it to 8,215 points and up 3.8 percent from five days ago.

Earlier, Vance said the Trump administration was “working very hard” with the British government to find a deal.

“The president really loves the United Kingdom. He loved the Queen. He admires and loves the King. It is a very important relationship. And he’s a businessman and has a number of important business relationships in [Britain]. But I think it’s much deeper than that,” he told UnHerd website.

“There’s a real cultural affinity. And, of course, fundamentally, America is an Anglo country. I think there’s a good chance that, yes, we’ll come to a great agreement that’s in the best interest of both countries.”

The United Nations’ trade body has urged the U.S to exclude vulnerable and small economies from its aggressive tariff increases.

In a new report, UN Trade and Development found that in many instances the reciprocal tariffs risked devastating developing and the least developed economies that trade with America, while doing little to reduce the U.S. trade deficits.

Last week Donald Trump paused reciprocal tariffs that were higher than 10 per cent for dozens of trading partners for 90 days. Those additional tariffs ranged from 11 per cent for Cameroon to 50 per cent for Lesotho.

In all 57 countries are affected. Eleven of them are among the least developed in the world, the UN trade body said, and 28 of those 57 nations account for less than 0.1 per cent of America’s deficits.

The report noted that several of the countries produce agricultural goods that are not produced in the U.S, or which have few subsitutes such as vanilla from Madagascar.

Vice president J.D Vance said there was a “good chance” of a trade deal between the U.S and the U.K, which is good news for Britain given the significance of its trade relationship with America.

The U.S is the U.K’s largest export partner, according to the Office for National Statistics.

In 2023, the U.K exported £60.4 billion ($80 billion) worth of goods to America, making up 15.3 percent of all the U.K’s goods exports that year.

Machinery and transport equipment were the main exports, and the U.S. is the U.K’s largest export partner for cars, taking £6.4 billion in cars in 2023.

The U.K also exports chemicals, including medicines and pharmaceutical products.

Since his inauguration less than three months ago, Donald Trump has made many changes to tariff plans.

Here’s a timeline of the key moments so far:

• January 20 – Announced additional 25 percent tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico.
• February 1 – Adds 10 per cent tariffs on China.
• February 10 – Introduces 25 percent tariff on all steel and aluminum exports to the U.S.
• March 4 – Canada, China and Mexico tariffs come into effect.
• March 26 – Announces 25 percent tariff on all cars and car parts shipped to the U.S.
• April 2 – Reveals 10 percent tariff on any country exporting goods to U.S, unless tariffs already exist. Announces even higher reciprocal tariffs for dozens of countries.
• April 9 – Higher tariffs take effect, but within hours Trump announces a 90-day pause – except the general 10 percent increase. China tariffs are lifted to 145 percent.
• April 11 – Trump administration exempts electronic goods.
• April 12-13 – Trump says new tariffs on semiconductors and chips will be introduced, administration says tech exemption will be temporary.

Chinese airlines have been ordered not to take any more deliveries of Boeing aircraft in response to the U.S. decision to lift tariffs on Chinese goods to 145 percent, Bloomberg News reports.

Sources familiar with the matter told the news services that Beijing has also asked airlines to stop purchasing any aircraft-related equipment and parts from U.S. companies.

Airlines that lease Boeing jets and are now facing higher costs could also receive assistance from the Chinese government, the sources told Bloomberg.

U.K Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey says parliament must vote down any tariff deal with the U.S that “undercuts British farmers” or negatively impacts the NHS.

“A good trade deal with the US could bring huge benefits, but Trump is an unreliable partner who breaks deals whenever he feels like it. He and his sidekick JD Vance must not be allowed to bully their way into a bad trade deal for the UK,” he said.

“The Government must commit to protecting our NHS, farmers and online safety laws, not barter them away just to appease Donald Trump.”

Ireland’s deputy premier said it would be “bizarre” for the U.S to raise tariffs further while in negotiations with the European Union.

“In any good faith negotiation, you should never take any action to escalate the situation,” Simon Harris said ahead of a cabinet meeting in Dublin on Tuesday.

“I mean, it would be bizarre and not good if, whilst in the middle of talks about trade, one of the parties to the talks was to do something that could cause economic damage or harm to the other.

Donald Trump has singled out pharmaceutical companies operating out of Ireland for higher duties, but Harris said the companies were based there for access to the European market which could “only be good for the American economy as well”.

“So this is an interconnected, interdependent relationship, and I really hope, if time and space is given to some standards of meaningful talks, that good progress can be made on this,” Harris said.