What the UK-US ‘trade deal’ means for businesses on both sides of the Atlantic

On 8 May 2025, the United States and United Kingdom announced the US-UK Economic Prosperity Deal [1] (“ US-UK EPD ”), marking a significant development in transatlantic trade relations. This first-of-its-kind framework aims to enhance economic partnership between the two nations based on principles of fairness and reciprocity.

This article examines the key provisions of the US-UK EPD and what they could mean for business in an evolving transatlantic trade landscape.

Background

The US-UK EPD comes at a time when the US has launched a number of section 232 investigations, which could potentially result in new tariff measures against various countries. The US-UK EPD provides a counterbalance, or modulating mechanism, to address these concerns, offering preferential treatment for UK i