Trump touts 'economic security' cooperation with UK as part of trade deal

President Donald Trump on Thursday announced that he had reached a trade agreement with the United Kingdom that would expand upon the "economic security" cooperation between both nations.

The agreement marks the first major trade pact that the United States has concluded since Trump's imposition of the "Liberation Day" tariffs that sent markets into a tumult.

"In a historic step, the deal includes plans that will bring the United Kingdom into the economic security alignment with the United States. That's the first of its kind," he said. "So we have a big economic security blanket, and that's very important, and we feel very, very comfortable with that, because it's been a great ally, truly one of our great allies. A lot of people say our greatest ally."

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer spoke via telephone at the event, in which he stated "there are no two countries that are closer than our two countries that now we take this into new and important territory by adding trade and the economy to the closeness of our relationship."

"It is built, as you say, on those notions of fairness and reciprocal arrangements. We've always had a fairer balance between our countries," he went on.

Following the joint remarks, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick confirmed that the agreement would result in a series of tariff exemptions on key manufacturing parts and that the UK would soon announce major purchases of American goods.