President Trump said Wednesday evening that he would announce a “MAJOR TRADE DEAL” at a press conference Thursday morning. “Big News Conference tomorrow morning at 10:00 A.M., The Oval Office, concerning a MAJOR TRADE DEAL WITH REPRESENTATIVES OF A BIG, AND HIGHLY RESPECTED, COUNTRY. THE FIRST OF MANY!!!” Trump posted on Truth Social. According to multiple outlets, the trade deal is with the United Kingdom. “A source familiar with the administration’s plans tells CNN the deal will be with the United Kingdom,” CNN stated. The New York Times also reported the announced trade deal would be with the United Kingdom. #BREAKING: President Trump will be announcing a trade deal with the UNITED KINGDOM Thursday in the Oval Office, per NYT This will put MASSIVE pressure on the rest of the European Union to concede to Trump THE ART OF THE DEAL IN ACTION! https://t.co/AKE2OPu7Vk pic.twitter.com/7daOjgiomH — Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) May 8, 2025 Per CNN: In his post, Trump didn’t specify which country, but his administration has suggested it is in active negotiations with India, the United Kingdom, South Korea and Japan. Trump’s top trade adviser, Peter Navarro, told CNN Tuesday that he suspected the UK may be the first country to sign a trade agreement with the United States. “I don’t know if it’s going to be the UK first or India first, it’s — we’ve got a little twist in the in this India story, so that might slow things down there, but I can assure the American people that there will be deals, and they will be very good deals for the American people,” Navarro said. The Financial Times on Tuesday reported that a UK trade deal could be signed this week and could exempt the United States from some non-tariff trade barriers, including the UK’s 2% digital services tax charged to US technology companies. In exchange, the United States may ease the tariff burden on the UK, perhaps reducing or exempting the country from 25% tariffs on aluminum, steel and autos, the FT reported. For weeks, Trump officials have said they are talking to more than a dozen countries and are nearing a deal, but none have been announced so far. Trump has frequently said he is in no rush to sign a deal, claiming that countries have been “ripping off” America for years and the high tariffs the United States has imposed will help balance trade. LATEST: Pres. Trump is expected to announce a trade deal with the United Kingdom on Thursday morning, according to sources familiar with the matter.https://t.co/3BFvxUQQJK — ABC News (@ABC) May 8, 2025 From The New York Times: Mr. Trump’s interest in striking a trade deal with Britain dates back to his first term, when his advisers negotiated with the country but didn’t finalize an agreement. British officials have also been eyeing a trade agreement with the United States since Brexit, as a way to offset weaker relations with Europe. In the Biden administration, British officials continued to push for a deal with the United States but made little progress. For Britain’s prime minister, Keir Starmer, the trade deal would offer vindication for his assiduous cultivation of Mr. Trump. During his visit to the Oval Office in February, Mr. Starmer turned up with an invitation from King Charles III for the president to make a rare second state visit to Britain. The Trump administration appears to be nearing deals India and Israel, and is continuing to negotiate with South Korea, Japan, Vietnam and other nations. Still, Mr. Trump once again displayed his unpredictable approach to economic policy on Tuesday when he downplayed the prospect of trade deals, saying other countries needed such agreements more than the United States. “Everyone says ‘When, when, when are you going to sign deals?’” Mr. Trump said, at one point motioning toward Howard Lutnick, his commerce secretary. “We don’t have to sign deals. We could sign 25 deals right now, Howard, if we wanted to. We don’t have to sign deals. They have to sign deals with us.” On Tuesday, British officials also agreed to a trade deal with India that would lower tariffs between the countries and secure more access for British firms to India’s insurance and banking sectors, among other changes. The announcement followed nearly three years of negotiations.