President Trump announced a new trade deal with the United Kingdom this week that will allow U.S. agriculture increased access to the UK market.
At an event in the White House, Trump said leaders in the United Kingdom had agreed to greater market access for $5 billion in overall American exports.
In a fact sheet, the White House detailed greater access for agricultural products that included, “Ethanol, beef, cereals, fruits, vegetables, animal feed, tobacco, soft drinks, shellfish, textiles, chemicals, machinery and more.”
The fact sheet said the deal includes more than $700 million in ethanal exports and $250 million more in other agricultural products such as beef. The deal also commits the two countries to work together to expand agricultural market access.
“The deal includes billions of dollars of increased market access for American exports, especially in agriculture, dramatically increasing access for American beef, ethanol, and virtually all of the products produced by our great farmers,” Trump said.
Officials on both sides of the Atlantic noted the United Kingdom agreed to a framework, suggesting more specific negotiations will be needed to finalize the deal.
BEEF
Officials stressed expanded market access for U.S. beef, though the U.S. also will import more beef as a result of the deal. Touting new expected exports, Trump said, “We’re a very big country. We have a lot of beef.”
Right now, the U.K. only imports about $32 million in U.S. beef. Rollins said that would change dramatically under the new deal. “This is going to exponentially increase our beef exports. And to be very clear, American beef is the safest, the best quality and the crown jewel of American agriculture for the world.”
For decades U.S. beef exports to the U.K. have been limited because the U.K. and European Union have rejected growth hormones.
Reports out of the U.K. detailed that tariffs and import rules would be reduced for beef, though the British government maintains that food standards will not change. The U.S. will grant the U.K. up to 13,000 tons of tariff-free beef access to the United States as well. As of now, the U.S. imports almost no beef from the U.K.
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) also touted the deal as a trade victory. “With this trade deal, President Trump has delivered a tremendous win for American family farmers and ranchers,” said NCBA President Buck Wehrbein, a Nebraska cattleman. “For years, American cattle producers have seen the United Kingdom as an ideal partner for trade. Between our countries’ shared history, culture, and their desire for high-quality American beef, securing a trade agreement is a natural step forward. Thank you, President Trump, for fighting for American cattle producers.”
NCBA has spent years advocating for expanded trade with the U.K. When the U.K. left the European Union in 2020, that opened the door to secure trade agreements with countries like the United States. NCBA says that British and American cattle producers share similar values and British consumers also enjoy American beef.
At the White House event, U.S. Trade Ambassador Jamieson Greer said there will be continued talks with U.K. officials about accepting hormone-treated beef and poultry products that have been rinsed with a chlorinate solution — a common practice in the U.S. but banned in the UK and Europe.
“We are going to discuss all of these types of issues and obviously the importing country, whether it is us or them, you have got to follow the rules on these types of things. Our point is that the rules need to make sure that they are based on science and that’s our expectation,” Greer said. “We know the UK believes that too. So, we want to come to an accommodation. We want the consumer of each country to choose what they want.”
TRADE NUMBERS
In the big picture, right now the United Kingdom is a minor buyer or seller in U.S. agricultural trade. Effectively the U.K. makes up about 1.5% of all U.S. agricultural trade.
The U.S. exported just under $2.2 billion in agricultural products to the U.K. last year with ethanol being the single highest-selling product.
The U.S. imported $2.7 billion in agricultural products from the United Kingdom in 2024. The lion’s share of U.K.’s totals are distilled spirits such as scotch and gin, which top $1.6 billion in sales to the U.S.
OTHER DEALS COMING
Under the U.K. deal, most exports from the United Kingdom outside of a tariff-rate quota will face a 10% tariff, Trump said.
When it comes to autos, Rolls Royce engines and plane parts will come over tariff-free. Overall, actual Rolls Royce, Jaguar and Bentley autos will have a 10% tariff, Trump said.
Trump said the deal opens up the opportunity for other trade agreements to be reached with the European Union and potentially China. Trump said the U.S. will reach a separate trade deal with the European Union.
“We are using tariffs now for our benefit,” Trump said.
Talking about China, Trump was optimistic a deal can be reached even if the two countries right now appear to be at a trade standstill.
“We would like to see China open up so we can compete in China,” Trump said. He later added, “I do believe they have far more to gain than we do.”
TOP US AG EXPORTS TO UK
Ethanol: $535 million
Grains and feeds: $214 million
Tree nuts: $202 million
Oilseeds: $196 million
Wine: $163.8 million
Sugar: $56 million
Livestock products: $95 million
— Beef: $32 million
— Bull semen: $18.7 million
— Horses for breeding: $15 million
— Pork: $4.6 million
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DTN/NCBA
