President Donald Trump held a press conference in the Oval Office on Thursday, announcing a historic trade deal with the United Kingdom while fielding various questions from the press and revealing staggering levels of worldwide investment in the American economy.
The president heralded a historic trade agreement between the United States and the United Kingdom, which will open the markets for both countries and embrace the core principles of trade: reciprocity and fairness.
Trump called the deal “full and comprehensive” and noted that the finer details of the plan will be hammered out over the coming weeks. As it stands now, the deal will prioritize American agricultural products like beef and ethanol into the United Kingdom and fast-track American goods sold overseas by cutting “red tape.”
“I think it’s a great deal for both parties,” Trump said.
He also noted that this deal has been in the making for 25 years, but before his presidency and before the willing cooperation of Prime Minister Keir Starmer, it hadn’t come to fruition.
“We’re going to take it to new levels, it’s a very big deal right now, but I think it’s going to grow just of its own volition,” Trump said.
Beyond that, the president took questions from the gaggle of media gathered around the Resolute Desk, revealing that the administration was “very close” to sealing more deals with other countries.
In fact, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is headed soon to Switzerland, where he will meet with Chinese officials to possibly secure a trade deal amid Trump’s sky-high tariffs on their exports to the U.S.
“They very much want to make a deal,” Trump said.
He reminded the media that the United States has been “ripped off” for the past five decades on trade, but “we are now making fair deals.”
“I think we’re going to have a very good relationship,” Trump said, exuding confidence that China will be forced to cooperate in a “friendly” way.
Amid all the talk about the U.S. economy, Trump pointed out that there will come a time when his administration will have met with every country that wants to make a deal, and they will then proceed to set the terms of each agreement.
“In other words, we don’t need the country’s involvement because we’ve already had it,” he said.
He also highlighted an impressive accomplishment, estimating that there has been close to $10 trillion in investments pledged to the United States since he took office, as manufacturers at home and abroad rush to build plants and bring jobs to America.
“They’re doing it because of the tariffs,” Trump said. “…Tariffs have always been used against us…we are using tariffs now for our benefit and we now have close to $10 trillion.”
“It’s amazing what’s happening,” he added.
