UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer holds a press briefing after President Trump announced a trade deal between the two nations on Thursday.
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00:00Really important, skilled, well-paid jobs. It will remove tariffs of British steel and aluminium, reducing them to zero. It will provide vital assurances for our life sciences, sector-chemical, to our economy, and grant unprecedented market access for British farmers without compromising our high standards.
00:25And for the great British cars that you make here that we see all around us, this deal means that the US tariffs will now be cut from 27.5% down to 10% for 100,000 vehicles every year.
00:43That's a huge and important reduction. And I know, from when I was last year, last year, how much that will have been weighing in your minds on the union, the size of the tarot that would otherwise be in relations.
00:57To get that decrease, which she would feel important to me. And I can tell you, my teams were working really hard on this deal, night and day, for weeks. I was working with them.
01:08And in politics, what matters sometimes is who you have in your mind's eye when you're making these deals, who you have in your mind's eye when you're taking decisions.
01:17And what I took away from here last time was you and the brilliant work that we do. I've had you in my mind's eye as we did that.
01:25And we've got scope now to increase that quota as we go forward. So this is not it. This is where we've got to have all of these tarot cuts will come into place as soon as possible.
01:36And that's really important, as well, in relation to the work that we've got for you and the brilliant past that we've made.
01:43And as David said, I was here with you just, as I said, a few weeks ago.
01:49And I promised you that I would deliver in the national interest.
01:54And today, I'm really pleased to come back here to be able to agree with you and say, I've delivered on the promise I've made to you.
02:02And that's why I said, as soon as I knew this deal was coming in today, I said, I'd want to come back to JLR to talk to the workforce there for whom this means so much.
02:13Now, of course, we are the first country to secure such a deal with the United States.
02:20And in an era of global insecurity and instability, that is so important.
02:25The great challenge of our age is to secure and to renew Britain.
02:29And that is what we're going to do, acting as a national interest, shaping this new era, not being shaped by it.
02:37If it's not for Britain, we won't do it.
02:40If it doesn't mean more money in people's pockets, we won't do it.
02:44If it doesn't mean security renewal in every part of the country, we won't do it.
02:50If that doesn't mean we're turning inward, instead we're sending a message to the world.
02:56But Britain is open for business, seeking trade agreements with India on Tuesday, with the U.S. today, and working to boost trade with other partners, including, of course, the EU.
03:10We have a really important meeting, just a week on Monday.
03:14Making deals that will benefit working people.
03:17And, you know, in recent years, an idea has taken hold that you somehow show your strength by rejecting your allies.
03:28When you shut the door, put the phone down, storm off.
03:32I had plenty of people urging me to do that, rather than stay in the room and fight for the interests of our country.
03:41And I want to be absolutely fiscal clear, that is not how this government operates.
03:47It's never how we will operate.
03:49We don't storm off.
03:50We stay in the room and we negotiate the work for our country with a national interest of all those of our lives.
03:59Because the other way of working doesn't do difficult benefits, the working people do.
04:03So I also want to be clear, this is just the start of a deal we've done today, which is saying, jobs saved, jobs won.
04:14No job done, because we're more ambitious for what the UK and the U.S. can do together.
04:20So we're hammering out further details to reduce barriers to trade with the United States across the world.
04:26We have £1.5 trillion invested in each other's diplomacy, creating 2.5 million jobs across both countries.
04:36There are so many areas where I think we can do even more than that, and put pounds in the pockets of working people across the United States.
04:43Because the two biggest services in the world will bring down barriers, creating jobs in our thriving services, in Leeds, in Manchester, in Melbourne, Birmingham.
04:55As the only two Western nations with trillion-dollar tech sectors will go further to deep with a partnership in new technologies to show the innovations of the next century together, and create the jobs of the future.
05:08Because, look, our history shows what we can achieve when we work together, and what timing for this deal that we would read this deal on VE Day.
05:19Eighty years ago today, Churchill was addressing the nation for the end of the Second World War victory in Europe, and we were standing in the United Kingdom with the United States on defense of security.
05:33And for 80 years, we've been the places of luck, and today, we've added to that trade and the economy with a special relationship between us, defined by Greece and the economy of trade.
05:46So it's fitting today that we renew the bond on the 80th anniversary of the year.
05:52I'm going to take some questions in a minute, but I do want to spend some time with you, because I know how important this is to you and all of your work colleagues here,
06:05all of your families, who I know they've been worried about what is going to happen. Of course they're worried. They're proud of what you do, worried about what might have happened.
06:15And not just you and your families, but your communities, and all the other jobs that you've done over the world coming through here.
06:22We're not coming, we're proud of what we do, but I've promised you we will do whatever we need to do to get to a position where we can ensure that our brilliant work continues,
06:33and try it to use and try it in the future. I've meant that as a principle, as I always intend to deliver to you, I'm trying to catch everybody's eyes,
06:42because as I said, in politics or patterns, it's who are you thinking about, don't you've got it in your mind, shall I, when you're having those conversations,
06:49whether it's President Trump just now, or last night, halfway through the article today, or whether it's the teams, the ghost shooting team, as they've been over weeks and days.
06:59So thank you, Mia, for being with me today. I'd love to have to talk to you some more, but please, through you, if I can explain that, to all your colleagues here,
07:12I know that we'll depreciate this, but let us forgive you for the weather boost that they have to do.
07:18I will now take questions from the major of your list here. I think, Chris, I've got you first.
07:25Thank you, Prime Minister. Chris, nice to be with you.
07:28Prime Minister, this is a free market trade conditions in America, compared with where we were, but is it better than, say, six months ago, given, for instance, some tariffs asked for that?
07:43Well, Chris, the question you should be asking is, is it better than where we were yesterday?
07:47And I think if you should come out when you finish, talk to the workforce here, because what this does is to reduce to zero, the tariffs on steel and aluminium.
07:59Look how important that is, reduces passively from 27.5% to 10% of tariffs on the cars that we have.
08:08It's so important to JLR, actually to the sector general, but JLR in particular, we sell so many cars into the American market, proudly do that.
08:18Of course, it also includes pharmaceuticals, some really important measures.
08:23Obviously, we don't have tariffs yet, but we've got, within the deal, significantly preferential treatment, whatever happens in the future.
08:31So, this is hugely important throughout the pharmaceutical sector, as well.
08:36In addition to that, we said we had red lines on standards for civilian agriculture.
08:44We've kept to those standards.
08:46The SPS red line is a red line that's written into the agreement.
08:51And so, I think if you put that package together, you can see that there's a significance there in the right direction of our country and our national interest for the very many thousands of jobs that will now be protected, saved and enhanced by the fact that we've done this deal.
09:08I'm really proud, and I know people are urging me to walk away, to descend in a different kind of relationship.
09:17We didn't, and we did the hard yard and stayed in the room.
09:20And I'm really pleased to say to the workforce here at 3M to the country, how to work out of this community.
09:28Thank you, Chris.
09:29Well, I'll talk to you next.
09:30Look, Prime Minister, all the polling shows that the British people think an improved trade deal with the European Union is more important than a U.S. trade deal.
09:45The British people are right, aren't they?
09:47Well, Robert, you're already minutes after this deal with the U.S., still pushing me back to, should we choose between the U.S. and the EU?
09:57No is the answer to that question.
09:58I genuinely believe that we can have a good relationship and agreement with the U.S.
10:07and a good relationship and agreement with the EU.
10:11That's why the Red Lines have been really important in the way that we've been doing this.
10:15But look what we've shown this week, that through patience, through pragmatism,
10:20through putting, not doing politics as performance, but doing politics as a serious art of negotiation.
10:28We've got a deal, 48,000 in India, which of course also deals with the car manufacturing,
10:35by the way, for the discussion to be had.
10:38We've got the deal now with the U.S.
10:40We go on on Monday week to the EU-U.K. summits.
10:45But I've always said that the strength of the U.K. is being able to deal both with the U.S. and the EU
10:52on security threats and on trade with the EU.
10:55And that's the basis of the truth.
10:57And I think the workforce here would say to you in very loud terms,
11:03thank goodness, you didn't take the advice about this,
11:05to walk away from negotiations with the U.S.
11:08Because it would be vague, it would pay the price,
11:12if we had come back, and I wasn't prepared to let that happen.
11:15Thank you, Robert.
11:16Beth, Sky News.
11:17Thank you, Thomas, for that for this time news.
11:20After in February, when you did a press conference with Donald Trump in the White House,
11:24he said, we could end up with a real trade deal
11:28where tariffs wouldn't be necessary, we'll see.
11:31Those were Donald Trump's words.
11:34And you've come out, and yes, you have a concession on cars.
11:38You have a flat tariff still of 10%.
11:41Are you disappointed with that?
11:44Is this just the start?
11:45And to those voters last week in the local elections,
11:49that gave you the worst ever vote share you've had in a set of elections
11:53as a Labour Party, what's your message to them, thank you?
11:58Well, my message to them is that we absolutely get the message
12:05that they've sent past Thursday.
12:07We will remain, as everyone has, in actual interest.
12:12And I have them in mind, I have the workforce here in mind,
12:16when we make this decision that we make.
12:17I don't make them from my state, I make them of remarkable working people across this country.
12:23And in relation to this deal, yes, we would like to go further in relation to tariffs,
12:30but I think it's really important that we've been able to get this deal over the line now,
12:35because in that way, we've been able to protect, let's say,
12:40an advanced cost right here, right now.
12:44And that reduction of 10% and a half percent, that's a 10%,
12:48that's a huge difference to firms like JLR,
12:51and the decisions they have to make about the future.
12:54Decisions that I want them to make about the future,
12:57still now that we have obviously been introduced hugely in recent weeks,
13:01to get that down to 0% as well, is hugely important.
13:06Pharmaceuticals is one of the most important sectors in our economy,
13:09and therefore there's nothing to get down at the moment,
13:12because there is a potential political issue that should be,
13:15which already have got into a position of significantly preferential outcomes.
13:20Will I know be a welcome relief to them?
13:23So I measure this by the reactions of those that are most affected by the territories,
13:30which are workers here, to those in the past,
13:33which are those who are working for the scale and our view.
13:36But look, there's a huge ambition here.
13:39There's a lot of the deal about tech.
13:41We are two of the leading employees who want tech.
13:44There's a huge amount of the deal on tech as well.
13:47So we want to go further in those areas and on tariffs,
13:54keeping our red lines absolutely in place on SPS and on food standards,
14:00and on food standards, because that matters so much to us here.
14:04Thank you, Beth.
14:06Paul.
14:09Hi there, Paul McWrighter.
14:10I've been a problem.
14:11Thank you, Mr. Mr. Look, because this needs certainty.
14:15President Trump is no stranger to changing his mind on the wind.
14:20What assurances can you give business?
14:22If the workers here, that despite what you've agreed today,
14:25we're not all going to wake up to a post tomorrow
14:27that effectively groups will have.
14:30Well, we've been negotiating this text for a long time.
14:35I had discussions with Donald Trump along the way,
14:38including discussions last night.
14:41We're clearly...
14:42There is a written text.
14:44This is reduced into writing.
14:46That text will be available.
14:47So this is an agreement.
14:49It is absolutely good.
14:52We work well together.
14:53We respect each other, the president and I,
14:56and we trust each other.
14:57We're trusting each other through this process.
14:59Each of us are band-aiding our negotiating teams
15:03to get the best deal from our respective countries.
15:05Both teams have fought hard and tough negotiations.
15:10We've arrived at an agreement that I went through
15:13with the president last night,
15:15and we've just agreed a moment ago here at JLR.
15:20So clear agreement in terms,
15:22and these tariff reductions have come in in very short order,
15:27and the material that we've provided
15:29very many people's information.
15:32Thank you very much.
15:33I've got Noah from The Sun.
15:37Hi, Prime Minister.
15:38I was wondering if you could please spell out for us
15:41what your strategy is going to be
15:43to get those 10% tariffs down to 0%.
15:46I know you're talking a lot about today being job safe,
15:50not a job done,
15:51but a lot of people will be thinking
15:5210% still isn't enough.
15:54We're worse off than a year ago.
15:56How are you going to approach negotiations going forward,
15:58and how long will it take until we get to 0%?
16:01I will approach negotiations in the same way I've approached
16:05the negotiations with India and with President Trump
16:09to get to today's deal.
16:11With India, our main program is available
16:14at the G20 in Brazil.
16:17We agreed that we would get our teams to work together
16:20at pace, in a courteous, respectful, business-like way.
16:25With President Trump, we've operated in the same way.
16:28We're walking out the room, we're slamming doors,
16:31we're staying in the room negotiating.
16:33The same with the EU, respectfully negotiating
16:36in relation to the summit.
16:38We'll have a week on this.
16:40So we're doing it exactly the same way.
16:42But please do not underestimate the significance
16:46of the tarot reductions today,
16:48because these are measured in thousands of goodwill
16:51voters across the country.
16:54And that really matters.
16:55That's the heart of everything that I believe in.
16:58And I believe serious, pragmatic,
17:01in-the-room negotiations,
17:03acting in that contrast,
17:05are far better than performance in politics.
17:08People are slamming the door, clamoring out,
17:11with being performative,
17:12but not actually delivering for money.
17:14The heart will continue in the same way.
17:16We've had two trade deals this week by acting in that way.
17:20And I think that shakes with serious pragmatism,
17:23which defeats performance in politics any day of the day.
17:29Mike, from the air.
17:32You mentioned tech a couple of times.
17:36J.B. Banks has on a number of occasions said
17:39that one of his red lines is concessions
17:42on our anti-hate speech rules.
17:45How have you managed to talk him round on that?
17:50And very quickly, if I may,
17:51I think you'll admit that this wasn't
17:53what you were expecting to do today.
17:57Donald Trump has been struggling
17:58to land his arguments on tariffs.
18:01Have we been bounced into this
18:03by a president giving his help out the whole?
18:04Well, look, I mean, in terms of free speech,
18:07I've been really clear throughout.
18:10We've had free speech in this country
18:12for a very, very long time.
18:14It's one of our national criticals
18:16of which we're all very, very proud
18:18and that will be a long, long lead case.
18:21There's nothing in this deal
18:22that emerges or that in any way whatsoever.
18:26In relation to the timing of this,
18:29I've not talked about how teams
18:30have been hard at work for weeks on end.
18:35I've wanted to get a deal over the line.
18:37I'm not ashamed of that.
18:40I've wanted it because I knew how important it was,
18:43particularly for JLR.
18:45We've got a deal, we've got it over the line,
18:46and we've got it over the line in a timely manner.
18:49The last thing I wanted to do was deliver a deal
18:52that didn't come in time for those who desperately need it.
18:57So, no, I didn't know the exact game.
19:00I wouldn't have been having my phone call
19:01with President Trump halfway through
19:03the second half of the last of the PSG game
19:05had I planned it better.
19:07But that's the way it's done now.
19:09So that's the discussion we were having
19:11late last night about how we have perceived
19:14with this deal, and I'm really pleased
19:16to be able to come here today.
19:18And actually, to be able to do it on PE Day
19:20is recent, because, of course,
19:22the U.S. was standing there as our ally
19:2480 years ago today,
19:27and so today is an opportunity
19:28to reflect on the fact
19:30that today we stand together as allies
19:33on security and defense,
19:35of course, preventing countries
19:36that are closer on security and defense.
19:38But now we are trading the problem
19:40to those issues
19:42where we're the closest allies.
19:44I'm really pleased about that.
19:45And thank you, Ben.
19:48Thank you, Prime Minister.
19:49Hugo Jai from the iPaper.
19:51Just the other day,
19:52President Trump threatened to put tariffs
19:54on the film industry.
19:56Obviously, Britain has a huge film sector.
19:59Have you asked him to take that threat
20:02off the table?
20:03What did he say?
20:04And if he hasn't taken that off the table,
20:06how are you going to stop that becoming a reality?
20:07Well, obviously, there aren't any tariffs
20:10in place on the film at the moment,
20:13and, of course, we're discussing it
20:14with the President's team.
20:17We'll take the same approach
20:18as we take them on other issues,
20:22whether it's tariffs imposed
20:23that we need to produce
20:24or potential tariffs
20:27in areas like pharmaceuticals,
20:30or Phil.
20:31We'll take the same approach
20:33because the media matters
20:35is at the national interest
20:38and making sure that everything that we do
20:40is good for working people
20:41in this country.
20:43And whether it comes to
20:44whether it's steel and aluminium,
20:46whether it's car building,
20:48whether it's pharmaceuticals,
20:49or film,
20:49we are brilliant on these things.
20:51And they provide
20:52the ads in the national interest
20:55and have those discussions
20:56on films with our coal and oil.
20:58Thank you all very much.
21:04I will now talk to some of the workers.
21:06Bye.