The UK’s agreement with the US will reduce car export tariffs from 27.5 per cent, save car manufacturers hundreds of millions a year and protect tens of thousands of jobs, the Government has said.
The US has also committed to cutting tariffs on UK aerospace goods such as engines and similar aircraft parts from the general 10 per cent tariff being applied to all other countries.
The deal is expected to especially benefit the West Midlands, which exports £8.5 billion to the US every year – more than any other region in the UK.
Olivier Christian, the UK’s new Trade Commissioner to North America who is a graduate of Staffordshire’s Keele University, has set out what this means for local businesses and workers in the region.
He said: “The US is one of the West Midlands’ biggest export destinations. Over half of those exports come from the automotive industry, with some of the UK’s most well-known car manufacturers based in the area including Jaguar Land Rover and Aston Martin. The deal we have negotiated will cut tariffs on cars from 27.5 per cent to 10 per cent for 100,000 vehicles every year, saving millions for carmakers in the region and protecting thousands of jobs.”
The West Midlands steel industry, which employs 5,000 individuals, is also set to benefit from the deal with tariffs on steel and aluminium exports reduced from 25 per cent to zero.
The benefits the deal will bring to the area are particularly pertinent for Oliver, who studied International Relations and Philosophy at Keele University between 2005 and 2008.
He said: “I have great memories of Keele from my time at university. Having lived in Stoke, Hanley and Newcastle-under-Lyme it is even more special that our work is having a positive impact on local people and businesses in the area.”
The new deal follows a multi-billion investment from Universal to build a new theme park in the UK, which was announced in Oliver’s first few weeks into the job.
“The decision by Universal to open the largest and most advanced theme park in Europe is a massive vote of confidence in the UK”, Oliver said. “We expect the site to generate nearly £50 billion for the UK economy by 2055, with thousands of jobs supported in the interim.”
Oliver was appointed to the role in March 2025, having previously served as His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner for the Middle East and Pakistan, as well as Head of the Prime Minister’s Business Unit in Downing Street. While in the role he established the Global Investment Summit, now the International Investment Summit, which last year secured a record-breaking £63 billion worth of investment into the UK.
Oliver added: “I’m proud to be representing the UK in North America, especially at such a crucial time. There is huge potential here and we’ve got off to a great start, however there is much more to do. The Prime Minister has asked every member of our North America network to bang the drum for British business and that’s exactly what I and my colleagues representing the UK intend to do.”