A recent trade agreement between the UK and US is set to benefit the automotive sector, particularly Jaguar Land Rover (JLR).
The deal, announced by UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, will reduce tariffs on most UK car exports to 10%, following a previous increase to 27.5% by US President Donald Trump.
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This reduction is expected to safeguard jobs within the industry.
Keir during a visit to JLR’s Solihull site, called it a historic deal, emphasising its importance in a time of global insecurity.
Keir said: “This historic deal delivers for British business and British workers protecting thousands of British jobs in key sectors including car manufacturing and steel.
“This is jobs saved, jobs won but not job done and our teams will continue to work to build on this agreement.”
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By GlobalDataThe tariff reduction will apply to 100,000 cars annually, with JLR having exported 101,000 vehicles to the US last year.
JLR’s chief executive officer Adrian Mardell said: “The car industry is vital to the UK’s economic prosperity, sustaining 250,000 jobs. We warmly welcome this deal which secures greater certainty for our sector and the communities it supports. We would like to thank the UK and US Governments for agreeing this deal at pace and look forward to continued engagement over the coming months.”
Steve Rigby, CEO of Rigby Group, a technology investment firm in the West Midlands, also praised the agreement.
Rigby highlighted the potential “structural risk to the regional and national economy” posed by higher tariffs, as noted in a recent report he prepared.
He added: “This deal moves us out of the red zone. It comes just in time for the West Midlands economy and the UK’s car industry.
“This just takes some pressure out of the system at a time when we need to let our manufacturers transition to electric vehicles.”
The West Midlands hosts other car manufacturers, including Morgan, Bentley, and Aston Martin.
Rigby stated which was reported by BBC: “The US is JLR’s number one export market. Trump’s tariff on car imports was a big blow for it and other auto exporters like Aston Martin and Morgan.”
Other tariffs imposed by Trump, including a 25% levy on UK steel and aluminium, have been removed.
However, the “baseline tariff” of 10% on all imported goods globally remains for the UK.
