Lincolnshire to benefit from recent trade deals
Manufacturing and farming in Greater Lincolnshire are set to benefit from the UK’s new trade deals with India, the US and EU.
- Prime Minister to meet with the Mayor of Greater Lincolnshire Andrea Jenkyns
- Comes as we’ve nailed three trade deals in as many weeks to deliver growth that is a priority for the Plan for Change
- Delivers welcome boost and security for the manufacturing industry that employs 39,000 workers
Manufacturing and farming in Greater Lincolnshire are set to benefit from the UK’s new trade deals with India, the US and EU.
The deals negotiated by the Prime Ministers deliver long-term certainty for 39,000 jobs in Greater Lincolnshire’s manufacturing sector, including 2,700 steel workers in Scunthorpe.
Our deal with the EU will benefit around 100,000 people (including in food retail) that are employed in the county’s food sector. It means less checks and red tape so that farmers and producers who grow food in Lincolnshire now have easy access to the EU, the UK’s biggest trading partners.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said:
These trade deals that we have closed delivers stability for 39,000 workers employed in the manufacturing sector in Greater Lincolnshire.
It also will create opportunities for more seamless trade, attracting inward investment that will grow the local economy and make a difference to people’s lives.
These changes will be felt everywhere, whether it’s lower food prices at the checkout, more choice for consumers and higher living standards that will improve livelihoods across Greater Lincolnshire.
The Prime Minister will tell the English Mayors and the Leaders from the Devolved Governments at a meeting of the Council of Nations and Regions in London today (Friday 23 May) that his trade deals with India, the United States and the EU will deliver economic growth that will improve people’s lives at home.
He will challenge those in attendance to drive economic growth in their local areas to deliver for working people.
Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said:
The three landmark deals secured this month with the US, India, and the EU have shown this government is serious about striking the deals that our businesses want and need.
We are delivering billions for the UK economy and wages every year as part of our Plan for Change. For businesses in Greater Lincolnshire, these deals will mean stability and jobs protected as they seize new opportunities to sell to some of our biggest trading partners.
Just weeks after he stepped into support the UK steel industry that was on the brink of collapse, the Prime Minister has negotiated the 25% tariff down to zero, meaning that UK steelmakers, like British Steel in Scunthorpe can carry on exporting to the US.
The UK exported £343 million in primary steel products to the US in 2024, so the deal agreed supports the viability of 40,000 jobs in the industry nationwide, including 2,700 workers in Scunthorpe and their families.
Lisa Coulson, British Steel’s Interim Chief Commercial Officer, said:
Europe is a strategically important market for our business, so we whole-heartedly welcome this agreement and the new working relationship between the UK and EU.
It will enable us to deliver more of the high-quality products synonymous with the British Steel name and support our drive to be one of the world’s leading manufacturers of steel.
In the same week, the Prime Minister agreed a trade deal with India that could see cheaper prices and more choice on products including clothes, footwear, and food products.
From this position of strength, we also upheld our red lines on standards including in agriculture, meaning that produce farmed in Greater Lincolnshire has been protected.
At today’s meeting of the Council of Nations and Regions the Prime Minister will also lead discussions about spreading AI to help working people access the services that they need in their local areas.