By Joe Wallace
Stocks rose more than 1% Thursday after President Trump and others spoke in the Oval Office to showcase what he billed as a "full and comprehensive" trade agreement with the U.K.
Trump outlined benefits for both countries and said the administration has more trade discussions in coming days. He said investments in the U.S. from this and future trade deals could amount to $10 trillion.
Thursday's deal "opens up a tremendous market for us," Trump said of the agreement, which he said will be particularly good for U.S. agriculture and manufacturing. His press conference ended just before noon Eastern time.
Under the deal, the 10% tariff the U.S. imposed against U.K. goods will remain, though some products will be exempted and auto tariffs against U.K. cars up to a certain number will be lowered to 10% from 25%. The U.K. has also committed to import more U.S. goods, including Boeing planes.
U.S. stock indexes hit their highs for the day approaching midday as Trump highlighted the deal's benefits and spoke of coming tax cuts as getting the economy "zooming."
Trump said without providing details that the administration has more deals in the works. "Everyone wants a deal," he said of other nations that he said include China.
He said the administration is dealing now with the European Union over trade issues. He attributed the success of the U.K. deal in part to his decision to "blow up the whole system," saying doing so made reaching what he called a fair agreement easier.
Trump thanked U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who spoke after Trump's introductory remarks. Starmer called the deal "a real tribute to the history" the two nations have of working together and noted that 80 years ago today Winston Churchill announced Allied victory in Europe.
The deal today "is truly historic," Starmer said.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the deal will open up "new market access" in areas such as ethanol and beef for American exporters, bringing in billions in revenue. He said the agreement will be good for steel producers in both countries.
The U.K. wants "to do it with America" to save thousands of jobs in steel and aluminum, Lutnick said. "You can work with us," Lutnick said.
The deal is the first of its kind since the administration unleashed tariffs five weeks ago. The S&P 500 has risen 10 of the past 12 days and was up 1.4% Thursday.
Meanwhile, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is traveling to meet China's lead economic representative, potentially paving the way for broader trade talks with the world's second-largest economy.
In Brussels, the European Union said it was prepared to hit more than $100 billion of American goods, including cars and airplanes, with tariffs if trade negotiations break down.
Elsewhere, the Bank of England cut interest rates. On Wednesday, the Fed said tariffs raised the risk of higher unemployment and inflation.
In the auto industry, Japanese heavyweight Toyota said tariffs would result in a $1.2 billion hit over just two months. U.S. peer Ford-which withdrew its guidance this week-raised prices for three popular vehicles on Wednesday.
In recent trading:
Stock indexes gained, with the Nasdaq Composite up around 2%.
Benchmark Treasury yields rose above 4.35%.
The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index fell. The regional Stoxx Europe 600 rose. Asian stocks were broadly higher.
Bitcoin traded above $100,000 for the first time in months.
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 08, 2025 14:56 ET (18:56 GMT)
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