UK’s US Trade Deal Hopes Crumble After Court Ruling—Joins Queue of Disappointed Partners

Another day, another trade deal dream deferred. The UK just got a brutal reality check from the courts—its coveted US trade agreement now hangs by a thread. Sound familiar? They’re not alone.

Trade partners worldwide keep learning the hard way: when Uncle Sam says ’maybe,’ he usually means ’not in this economy.’

Bonus jab: At least the lawyers got paid. Someone’s gotta keep those billable hours in the green.

UK pushes for a confirmed tariff deal

UK Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds is due to meet US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer next week at an OECD conference in Paris. He aims to nail down precise “timelines” for putting the tariff cuts into place. A spokesman for Mr. Reynolds said on Thursday that the talks were still expected to go ahead and described the US court ruling as “a matter for the US to determine domestically.”

A British government spokesperson said the UK was the first country to secure such a deal with the US and that it “will protect British business and jobs across key sectors, from autos to steel.” They added: “We are working to ensure that businesses can benefit from the deal as quickly as possible and will confirm next steps in due course.”

At the White House, a spokesperson said the administration was working closely with its British counterparts “to fully implement the terms of this landmark agreement in short order and expand bilateral trade between our nations.” Their comments echoed earlier promises but did not add new dates or actions.

Since the pact was agreed, leaders in the British car industry have pressed for clarity on whether the new 10% rate could apply retrospectively from its announcement. Jaguar Land Rover paused shipments to the US in April when the old tariffs took effect, and only resumed exports earlier this month at the 27.5% level.

The global trade war still goes on

While the decision marks a legal defeat for Trump, it is unlikely to scare him off from using tariffs to reshape global commerce in America’s favor, according to a WSJ report.

The administration has already announced plans to appeal, and trade lawyers note that other legal paths remain open, allowing the president to pursue steep duties through different channels.

“This is just one more bump in the tariff road that we are going to be on for as long as Trump remains in office,” said Deborah Elms, head of trade policy at the Hinrich Foundation in Singapore.

“He loves tariffs and he loves the idea of being able to impose them at will, and I don’t think he’s going to give that up easily.”

While the administration’s appeal could carry the case up to the Supreme Court, it remains unclear whether the struck-down tariffs will stay in place during the appeal process.

In the meantime, Asian stock markets rallied: Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closed up 1.35%, and Tokyo’s Nikkei ROSE 1.88% on Thursday.

Jeffy Ma, who runs a hat factory in Guangzhou, called the ruling “good news,” but added, “After all, tariffs haven’t been completely canceled.”

William Su, CEO of Teamson, which supplies Chinese-made toys to US retailers, noted that “some large retailers are asking us to see if we can ship more now,” yet warned that the uncertainty could still deter orders.

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