U.S. President Donald Trump said from the White House on Thursday that his government has reached a trade agreement with the United Kingdom.
The deal affirms that “reciprocity and fairness is a vital principle of international trade” and increases access for U.S. agricultural products, Trump said, though he added that the final details were still being written up.
Recommended Videos
Here's the latest:
Prime Minister Keir Starmer: It’s fitting that a UK-US trade deal has been sealed on VE Day
VE Day is the anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe.
In a phone call with President Trump, Starmer said “it was about this time of day 80 years ago that Winston Churchill announced victory in Europe.”
He said Thursday is a “fantastic, historic day” that will bring the two countries closer together.
Trump to speak with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy later Thursday
The president says he’ll be talking with Zelenskyy after Ukraine’s parliament voted to ratify a landmark mineral deal with the U.S.
Trump disclosed that he’d be speaking with Zelenskyy after noting “we just concluded the rare earth deal with Ukraine.”
The agreement, seen as a key step before a potential peace deal between Ukraine and Russia, gives the U.S. access to a “massive amount” of “high-quality” rare earth material in Ukraine, Trump says.
‘Final details’ still to come
Although Trump has touted the trade deal with the U.K., he also conceded there’s more work to do.
“The final details are being written up,” he said in the Oval Office. “In the coming weeks, we’ll have it all very conclusive.”
Trade agreements are notoriously complex and can be time consuming to finalize. However, Trump has been racing to reach deals as he tries to fulfill his promises since launching his tariff agenda last month.
Trump announces a trade agreement with the UK
The deal affirms that “reciprocity and fairness is a vital principle of international trade,” Trump said from the Oval Office. It increases access for U.S. beef, ethanol, and other agricultural products, Trump added.
It also fast tracks American goods through the U.K.’s customs process, Trump said. He cautioned that final details will come in the “coming weeks.”
“They’re opening up the country,” Trump said. “The country is a little closed.”
House follows Trump’s lead with a vote to change the Gulf of Mexico to ‘Gulf of America’
The Republican-led House passed the bill Thursday that would direct federal agencies to update their documents and maps to incorporate the new name.
Trump already signed an executive order during his first day in office to rename the Gulf. House Republicans are looking to show their support, though it’s unclear whether the Senate will go along. The bill passed by a vote of 211-206.
The body of water has shared borders between the United States and Mexico. Trump’s order only carries authority within the U.S. Mexico, as well as other countries and international bodies, don’t have to recognize the name change.
Democrats said the vote demonstrated that Republicans aren’t focusing on the priorities of most Americans. New York Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, the House’s top Democrat, asked Democrats to vote against this “silly, small-minded and sycophantic piece of legislation.”
▶ Read more about the name change
Trump says release of Jimmy Lai could be part of trade talks with Beijing
In a podcast, President Trump said he would make the release of the prominent Hong Kong businessman a part of his administration’s trade talks with China.
In an interview with Hugh Hewitt that was aired Wednesday, Trump was asked about his promise to get Jimmy Lai out and said: “I think talking about Jimmy Lai is a very good idea. We’ll put it down, and we’ll put it down as part of the negotiation.”
Lai is 77 and founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper known for its anti-Beijing stance. He’s standing trial in Hong Kong on national security charges and could be jailed for life. Before he was elected, Trump had said he would “100 percent” get Lai out.
First lady Melania Trump will host event commemorating Barbara Bush at the White House
She’ll unveil a U.S postage stamp Thursday afternoon featuring Bush, who was married to former President George H. W. Bush, and is the mother of former President George W. Bush.
Barbara Bush died in 2018.
Members of the Bush family are expected to be in attendance.
Melania Trump’s spokesperson says the first lady and her staff and looking forward to paying tribute to the legacy of Barbara Bush.
Trump gets his first trade deal
When the president retreated from his tariff plans in April, he announced that he would seek individual deals with various countries over the next few months.
The process has been shrouded in mystery since then, and administration officials have said they’re hard at work behind the scenes.
Now Trump gets to announce the first of what he says will be may trade deals. The agreement with the U.K. will likely be limited in scope to specific sectors, such as car manufacturing.
However, the president says it’s a sign of things to come. He wrote on Truth Social that there are “many other deals, which are in serious stages of negotiation, to follow!”
President Trump renews attack on Fed chair, calling him a ‘FOOL’
Trump criticized Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell early Thursday, a day after Powell said the Fed would keep its key interest rate unchanged for the third straight meeting.
Yet Trump did not suggest he would seek to remove Powell as chair. On Sunday, he said he would let Powell serve out his term, which lasts until next May.
Powell said Wednesday that Trump’s tariffs, if they remained in place at their current level, could weaken the economy, raise inflation and increase unemployment. Powell emphasized that the Fed is still in “wait-and-see” mode as it evaluates the tariffs’ effect on the economy.
Trump said “almost all costs” are down, including groceries and eggs, and added that there’s “virtually NO INFLATION.”
Consumer prices did fall in March, on a monthly basis, for the first time in nearly five years. Yet grocery costs jumped 0.5% just from February to March. The Fed considers inflation in check when it falls to 2%. It was 2.4% in March.
The US-UK trade deal was sought for years
When then-British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was campaigning for Brexit, he told voters that leaving the European Union would allow Britain to negotiate its own trade agreement with the United States. But although talks began at the end of Trump’s first term, they never came to fruition.
Negotiations languished under President Joe Biden, a Democrat and a critic of Brexit.
Now with Trump back in office, the U.S. and the U.K. are poised to announce a trade deal. Although it’s unlikely to be as “full and comprehensive” as the Republican president has claimed, it’s expected to ease the burden of his tariffs.
Trump wrote on Truth Social that it will “cement the relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom for many years to come.”
▶ Read more about the trade deal between the U.S. and the U.K.
Ukraine’s parliament ratifies a minerals deal with the US
Ukraine’s Parliament unanimously voted in favor of ratifying of a landmark minerals deal with the U.S. on Thursday afternoon, a lawmaker said.
The ratification is a key step in setting the deal in motion. It calls for the creation of a joint investment fund with the U.S.
Parliament approved the agreement with 338 members voting in favor out of the required 226 votes, Ukrainian lawmaker Yaroslav Zheleznyak wrote on his Telegram account. No lawmaker voted against it or abstained.
Trump’s Thursday schedule, according to the White House
10 a.m.: Trump will deliver his anticipated trade announcement, likely announcing the deal between the U.S. and the United Kingdom
12 p.m.: Trump and the first lady will participate in a celebration of military mothers at the White House
Trump campaign architects are now training their sights on Albania’s upcoming election
Some of the architects of Trump’s presidential campaigns have reunited in Albania as they try to help a Trumpian candidate prevail in this weekend’s elections.
They include Chris LaCivita, who served as co-campaign manager of Trump’s successful 2024 effort, Trump’s longtime pollster Tony Fabrizio, and Paul Manafort, who served as chairman of Trump’s 2016 campaign before he was convicted in 2018 of crimes that included secretly lobbying for Ukraine’s former pro-Russian president.
The trio is working for former prime minister and president Sali Berisha, the head of Albania’s opposition Democratic Party, who is challenging Prime Minister Edi Rama to return the Democrats to power, even as he awaits trial on corruption charges.
▶ Read more about the upcoming Albanian election
Trump taps wellness influencer close to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for surgeon general
Trump is tapping Dr. Casey Means, a physician-turned-wellness influencer with close ties to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., as his nominee for surgeon general after withdrawing his initial pick for the influential health post.
Trump said in a social media post Wednesday that Means has “impeccable ‘MAHA’ credentials” – referring to the “ Make America Healthy Again ” slogan – and that she will work to eradicate chronic disease and improve the health and well-being of Americans.
In doing so, Trump withdrew former Fox News medical contributor Janette Nesheiwat from consideration for the job, marking at least the second health-related pick from Trump to be pulled from Senate consideration. Nesheiwat had been scheduled to appear before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Thursday for her confirmation hearing.
Means and her brother, former lobbyist Calley Means, served as key advisers to Kennedy’s longshot 2024 presidential bid and helped broker his endorsement of Trump last summer.
▶ Read more about Trump’s new pick for surgeon general
States sue the Trump administration for blocking funds for electric vehicle charging
Seventeen states are suing the Trump administration for withholding billions of dollars for building more electric vehicle chargers, according to a federal lawsuit announced Wednesday.
The Trump administration in February directed states to stop spending money for electric vehicle charging infrastructure that was allocated under President Joe Biden — part of a broader push by the Republican president to roll back environmental policies advanced by his Democratic predecessor. The EV charger program was set to allocate $5 billion over five years to various states, of which an estimated $3.3 billion had already been made available.
The lawsuit is led by attorneys general from California, Colorado and Washington, and challenges the Federal Highway Administration’s authority to halt the funding. They argue Congress, which approved the money in 2021 as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, holds that authority.
▶ Read more about the lawsuit
US and UK expected to announce a trade deal that Trump says will cement their relationship
The United States and Britain are expected to announce a trade deal on Thursday that will lower the burden of Trump’s sweeping tariffs and deliver a political victory for U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Trump posted on his Truth Social platform that a deal due to be announced at 10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT) will be a “full and comprehensive one that will cement the relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom for many years to come.”
It’s the first bilateral trade deal announced since Trump began slapping tariffs on U.S. trading partners. He said: “Many other deals, which are in serious stages of negotiation, to follow!”
Starmer’s office said the prime minister would give an “update” about U.S. trade talks later Thursday.
▶ Read more about the expected announcement