Media Coverage
Source: Sky News
Media Coverage
Press Contacts: Erik Cummins, Matt Hyams, Taina Rosa, Olivia Thomas
07.03.25
British-made cars and jet engines are now heading to the U.S. under significantly improved trade terms, thanks to a new trade deal between the U.S. and UK that took effect early Monday morning. As the only trade agreement currently enacted by the U.S. administration, the deal offers the lowest tariffs available to any trading nation—featuring a 10% tariff on cars and zero import taxes on aerospace parts.
In an interview with Sky News, Matthew Oresman, the managing partner of Pillsbury’s London office and a professional in such trade agreements, emphasized the UK’s strong position under the deal.
“The UK is in a much better position than any of its competitors, especially the European Union, when looking at auto tariffs,” he said.
Highlighting the significance of the U.S. as an export market, Oresman added, “it’s major.”
“[The U.S.] is the number one export market for the UK. The UK exports about 100,000 cars a year to the U.S., especially high-end vehicles, that do employ a huge population here in the UK,” he said. “The 10% is an interesting rate for the UK because it does, obviously, increase the cost to those high-end consumers in the U.S. So, hopefully it won’t impact the market too much.”
On the aerospace side, which makes up 70% of the exports, Oresman noted, “There are some great aviation makers here in the UK that should enjoy the export of their goods to the U.S.”
“However,” he added, “most of those engines, or at least a good amount of them, are going to be round tripped back here as part of the purchase that British Airways is doing of Boeing planes.”
“These are somewhat wins,” he explained, “but I don’t bank them the same ways as I would say the auto [market] because a lot of those end products are going to be consumed and bought back here in the UK.”
While the deal excludes steel and aluminum, Oresman pointed to ongoing concerns around China as a key reason.
“The U.S. is still looking for the UK to make various concessions and commitments around trade with China in the form of export controls, investment controls and outbound investment controls,” he said. “Those are still under negotiations and somewhat are being held hostage to the fact that the U.S. is engaged in its own negotiations with China.”
“So, the U.S. is also looking to see what commitments the UK is going to make around China, and I think, once that’s set, we’ll be able to see the steel issue become more unlocked,” he concluded.
Click here to watch the full interview.