Thursday, an announcement was made from the Oval Office, featuring British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on speakerphone, lauding the first "very large" trade deal reached since tariffs were enacted last month.
As I write this 24 hours later, the key building blocks of a White House trade deal have been revealed.
From the document posted at whitehouse.gov, "General Terms for the United States of America and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Economic Prosperity Deal," the May 8 accord is an agreement to agree. Nearly all the fine details are to be agreed to later.
What we do know is that for most things, namely vehicles, industrial equipment, and medical and optical equipment, the tariff on British imports will be 10%, more than triple the current rate.
We know that if it impacts defense, the rate will be zero. That's because it was announced that Rolls-Royce engines and plane parts will have zero tariff. Rolls-Royce provides propulsion systems for naval vessels and engines for the V-22 Osprey aircraft family among other military aircraft.
Part of the announcement focused on increasing access to British markets for American farm products: "especially in agriculture, dramatically increasing access for American beef, ethanol and virtually all of the products produced by our great farmers." And indeed, the online terms document outlines the removal of British tariffs on American beef.
The terms document goes on to say that food exports must meet the importing country's sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) standards. The U.K. currently bans any beef treated with growth hormone and any chicken washed with chlorine in processing. This makes most American beef and poultry ineligible for export to Britain regardless of tariff, so the benefit to beef and chicken producers is zero.
There is no real information on pharmaceuticals. Both countries export pharmaceuticals to each other, although the U.K. is the larger exporter ($6.95 billion compared to $4.78 billion exported from the U.S. in 2023). As many Americans struggle with the cost of healthcare, any additional tax on our medication will be a significant burden.
The White House maintains that tariffs are the tool of choice to leverage better trade deals around the world for largest and most successful economy the world has ever seen. This is the first trade deal to result from this policy. The key elements, to summarize, are: triple the tax on British goods for most consumers except the defense sector; no gains for American agriculture; and the likelihood of months of uncertainty as final details are hammered out.
This is a playbook that will have to be repeated with scores of nations. It will take more than months; it will consume the entire term of this administration.
In very large part due to the uncertainty created by the tariff policy, our economy is shrinking for the first time since the pandemic. The pandemic was beyond the government's control. Tariffs are well within it.
Merritt Hamilton Allen is a PR executive and former Navy officer. She appeared regularly as a panelist on NM PBS and is a frequent guest on News Radio KKOB. A Republican for 36 years, she became an independent upon reading the 2024 Republican platform. She lives amicably with her Democratic husband north of I-40 where they run one head of dog, and one of cat. She can be reached at
