Donald Trump announces US trade deal with Britain, suggests call with Xi Jinping for China
Last Updated on May 8, 2025 11:00 pm
By Khushboo Razdanin Washington
US President Donald Trump has announced a trade agreement with Britain, marking the first such pact secured by his administration since launching a sweeping effort to overhaul the global trading system through tariffs, as he suggested a call with China’s leader Xi Jinping loomed and that levies on Chinese goods “could be” coming down.
“Because of our long-time history and allegiance together, it is a great honour to have the United Kingdom as our FIRST announcement,” Trump wrote on social media.
Trump during a White House briefing told reporters that “many meetings” were being planned “today and tomorrow”, adding that “every country wants to be making deals”.
The US president also said he “might speak with Xi” depending on how talks in Switzerland go, referring to the Chinese leader as Washington prepares to negotiate with Beijing its steep tariffs on the Asian economic giant.
Asked about a possible phone conversation with Xi, Trump said: “I might, yeah, sure.”
“I always got along very well” with the Chinese president, he added.
Trump cited Britain in stating he would “like to see China opened”.
“The UK was largely closed,” he said. “It was very much closed to trade, and now it’s open.”
The developments come as Trump faces mounting scrutiny over the lack of visible progress in trade talks with China – America’s third-largest trading partner – as the clock ticks on the 90-day pause in his reciprocal tariffs on all countries.
Just days after imposing new tariffs on all US trading partners on April 2, Trump paused the measures to allow time for renegotiating trade agreements, except with China, which remained the primary target of his tariff strategy.
Tariffs on Chinese imports now stand at a cumulative 145 per cent.
On Thursday, Trump described US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s coming meeting with China’s top economic official, Vice-Premier He Lifeng, in Switzerland as poised to be “very, very interesting”.
China wanted to “make a deal very badly too”, Trump added. as he hinted that the tariffs on Chinese goods could be lowered after the talks on Saturday.
“It could be, I mean, we’re going to see, right now, you can’t get any higher. It’s at 145 so we know it’s coming down,” Trump said, adding: “We’re gonna have a good weekend.”
Earlier, the US president had insisted that discussions were ongoing as Chinese officials denied his claims.
“We can all play games. Who made the first call, who didn’t make them? It doesn’t matter,” Trump said on Thursday. “It only matters what happens in that room.”