The White House is looking at trade deals drafted by more than 15 countries, its press secretary has said.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said some deals with countries will be announced “very soon”.
It comes after US Vice President JD Vance said he believes the UK will get a “great agreement” because of the president’s affection for the country.
Last week Donald Trump delayed imposing varying tariffs on the entire world by 90 days last week after global markets reacted with horror.
But the trade war with China continues with tariffs of up to 145% on goods going from China to the US and 125% on goods flowing the other way.
The UK government has been hopeful of a deal to exempt the UK from Mr Trump’s tariffs, and in an interview with the website UnHerd on Tuesday, Mr Vance said he was optimistic that both sides could come to a mutually beneficial agreement.
Read more:
How Trump changed his mind on tariffs
UK-US agreement ‘in the foothills’
“We’re certainly working very hard with Keir Starmer’s government,” Mr Vance said.
“The president really loves the United Kingdom. He loved the Queen. He admires and loves the King. It is a very important relationship. And he’s a businessman and has a number of important business relationships in [Britain]. But I think it’s much deeper than that.
“There’s a real cultural affinity. And, of course, fundamentally, America is an Anglo country.
“I think there’s a good chance that, yes, we’ll come to a great agreement that’s in the best interest of both countries.”
Mr Vance said the “reciprocal relationship” between the US and UK gives Britain a more advantageous position than other European countries when it comes to negotiating new trade arrangements, adding: “While we love the Germans, they are heavily dependent on exporting to the United States but are pretty tough on a lot of American businesses that would like to export into Germany.”
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‘Calling it a trade deal would be misleading’
US correspondent Mark Stone said he has been told the UK is “now in the deal space”, while another source said the UK was “in the foothills” of a deal.
But, Stone wrote, calling any agreement between the US and UK a “trade deal” would be misleading as it’s an “economic deal” to reduce the tariffs.
It is, however, a large step forward for the UK – which has been trying to engage America in closer trade alignment since Brexit, Stone said.
