The steel, automotive and agriculture sectors look to benefit most from the UK’s new trade deal with the US, which reduces or eliminates tariffs for certain goods.

The baseline 10% tariff remains in place, but steel and aluminium, previously subject to 25% tariffs, are now subject to no tariffs at all, giving much needed relief for the UK’s ailing steel industry. Tariffs on automobiles have been cut from 27.5% to 10% for a quota of 100,000 vehicles. A tariff-free quota of 13,000 metric tonnes of beef is also now in place.

In turn, the UK government has removed tariffs on US ethanol, used to make beer. The government says that UK food standards have not been diluted as part of the deal, and neither has the digital services tax. Instead, there will be a digital trade deal to ‘strip back paperwork’ for exporters. No detail has been provided as to what this might look like.

No deal has yet been made for sectors such as pharmaceuticals, but the government says that negotiations are ongoing. However, the US has agreed to give the UK ‘preferential treatment’ if any further tariffs are imposed, protecting UK businesses from some of their worst impacts.

ICAEW CEO Alan Vallance said that the deal was unprecedented and welcomed the announcement, while emphasising the importance of scrutinising the details of the deal.

“Continuing to cement this agreement is key, and we hope governments on both sides of the Atlantic will build on our longstanding relationship to deliver a comprehensive trade agreement,” he said. “Professional services are a key part of the UK economy and one of the priority sectors in the Industrial Strategy.

"The professional services sector is pivotal to growth, especially through the encouragement of more trade in UK professional services around the world, and we would particularly like to see further work to secure mutual standing of professions in the UK and the US.”

The deal provided much needed certainty to businesses at a time in which the government is pushing to encourage growth in the UK, he added. “The long-term relationship between the UK and US reflects our mutual status as major capital markets and there is huge potential for us together to show leadership in building trust in markets to deliver growth. Central to this is the greater certainty that a long-term trade agreement can offer.”