Starmer and Trump agree US-UK 'prosperity' deal talks will continue 'at pace' in latest phone call

Sir Keir Starmer and Donald Trump have discussed the "productive negotiations" towards a UK-US "economic prosperity deal", Downing Street has said.

The two leaders discussed a possible deal in a phone call on Sunday and agreed negotiations will "continue at pace", according to a statement.

A Downing Street spokesperson said: "The prime minister spoke to President Trump this evening.

"The president opened by wishing His Majesty the King best wishes and good health.

"They discussed the productive negotiations between their respective teams on a UK-US economic prosperity deal, agreeing that these will continue at pace this week.

"Discussing Ukraine, the prime minister updated the president on the productive discussions at the meeting of the Coalition of Willing in Paris this week. The leaders agreed on the need to keep up the collective pressure on Putin.

"They agreed to stay in touch in the coming days."

Earlier this week, Mr Trump announced a new 25% tariff on all imported cars - threatening UK producers' largest single export market.

Signing an executive order on Wednesday, Mr Trump said the tax would kick in on 2 April - what he has called "liberation day".

British manufacturers such as Jaguar Land Rover, Bentley, Aston Martin and Rolls-Royce stand to be worst affected by the tariffs.

But the UK government has signalled it will not retaliate - mirroring its response to the tariffs on steel and aluminium imposed globally by the Trump administration earlier this month.

Tariffs are a key part of Mr Trump's efforts to reshape global trade relations.

He plans to impose a swathe of what he calls "reciprocal" taxes on "liberation day" that would match tariffs and sales taxes levied by other nations.

President Trump told reporters on Sunday that the reciprocal tariffs will include all nations that charge fees on US exports.

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The UK hopes an economic deal with the US will spare the country from a broader round of these tariffs.

On Friday, Mr Trump said he was open to carving out deals with countries seeking to avoid US tariffs, but those agreements would be negotiated after 2 April.

Mr Trump has already placed a 20% tax on all imports from China.

He also placed 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada - before later suspending them on certain goods - with a lower 10% tariff on Canadian energy products in addition to the duties on all steel and aluminium imports, including those from the UK.

The two leaders spoke last Sunday in a "brief call" about the economic prosperity deal, and again nearly three weeks ago ahead of the US-Ukraine talks in Saudi Arabia.

Mr Starmer and Mr Trump appeared to have a warm personal relationship when they met in the Oval Office last month.

But just a day later, the US president along with vice president JD Vance delivered a dressing down to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

That meeting marked a major shift in the US approach to Ukraine, while Mr Starmer cemented his position as a bridge between Europe and Washington in the peace talks by hosting Mr Zelenskyy and other European leaders in London days later.

Mr Starmer and Mr Trump also spoke twice before they met in person.