What the U.S.-U.K. trade deal Trump announced means for Britain

LONDON — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer hailed a “fantastic, historic” day as he joined President Donald Trump in announcing a new trade deal between their countries — an agreement Starmer said would protect thousands of British jobs.

Every British prime minister since the 2016 Brexit vote to leave the European Union has sought to secure a trade deal with the United States that they could trumpet. But the outlines of the agreement announced Thursday did not amount to the prize the United Kingdom has been seeking. Although the deal shields Britain from some of the impact of Trump’s tariffs, it leaves the U.K. no better off on U.S. trade than it was before Trump imposed sweeping tariffs on countries around the world, including Britain.