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White House looking at trade deals from more than 15 countries

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On April 15, 2025

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White House looking at trade deals from more than 15 countries

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 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.

China posts strong growth figures – but the tariff effect is yet to be seen

China’s economy actually performed better than expected in the first quarter of the year, but it reflects a moment in time before the explosive trade war with America and before the world’s two biggest economies effectively decoupled.

Economists had predicted it would grow around 5.1% in January-March compared to a year earlier. In the end, it grew 5.4%.

But these impressive figures obscure the very serious challenges China’s economy is facing in the wake of Trump’s trade war, and they will almost certainly not be sustained as the year goes on.

Crucially, the worst of Trump’s tariffs came into force in April and so were not reflected in these figures.

In Q1 China faced an initial 10% tariff on all its exports to America which was then raised to 20% from 10 March.

But China had planned and prepared for taxes at that level, and thus the impact was pretty minimal.

Growth was also propelled by the fact that exporters rushed to deliver orders in bulk before the tariffs came into force.

In fact, exports surged a remarkable 12% in March compared to a year earlier, a rate that will not be sustained.

Indeed, current tariffs on goods sold from China to America stand at 145%. Trade at that price is all but impossible.

Given exports account for a fifth of China’s economy and given the fact that consumer confidence domestically is still sluggish, there will be a significant hit to come.

Experts agree China will most likely miss its annual growth target of 5% – the question is by how much.

The UK government has been hopeful of a deal to exempt the UK from 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.

“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.”

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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.”

Sources close negotiations told Sky News US correspondent Mark Stone that the UK is “now in the deal space”, but there is some distance to go.

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