'Good chance' of UK-U.S. trade deal, JD Vance says, as Trump 'really loves' Britain

The U.K. has a “good chance” of securing a trade deal with America, U.S. Vice President JD Vance said, as global market sentiment rises on hopes there will be further respite from U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff policies.

“We’re certainly working very hard with [U.K. Prime Minister] Keir Starmer’s government” on a trade deal, Vance said in an interview with the UnHerd website published on Monday.

“The President really loves the United Kingdom. He loved the Queen [Elizabeth II]. He admires and loves the King [Charles]. 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,” Vance said.

“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,” he added.

The U.K. escaped relatively unscathed from Trump’s tariffs regime, struck with a 10% duty on all of its imports to the U.S. — as opposed to a 20% tariff imposed on its neighbors in the European Union — when the White House leader announced his wide-ranging global tariffs policy at the start of April.

Britain has a far more balanced trading relationship with the U.S. when it comes to goods, although it runs a sizeable surplus in the trade of services, the latest data shows.

British government officials say they are working hard to strike a trade deal with the U.S., although the scope and breadth of any agreement remains unknown.

Aside from the more balanced trading relationship, Trump’s affection for the U.K. is well documented, with the president visibly enjoying the grandeur of a state visit to the U.K. during his first term in office, when he and first lady Melania Trump were the guests of the late Queen Elizabeth II.