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Business leaders from across the West Midlands have been reacting to the news of a new trade deal between the º£½ÇÊÓƵ and US.

The news has been broadly welcomed after the announcement in April that a host of import tariffs would be imposed on goods entering America.

This was seen at the time as particularly problematic in the West Midlands where local car manufacturers such as JLR and Aston Martin enjoy strong sales there.

The American market represents around a fifth of JLR's overall sales while the figure is even higher for Aston Martin at around 30 per cent.

As a result, Aston Martin announced it was limiting its exports to the US while JLR paused them altogether.

Under this newly announced trade deal, there will be a ten per cent tariff on the first 100,000 cars exported to the US - down from the 25 per cent originally proposed by President Donald Trump.

Any vehicles exported above that 1000,000 figure will be subject to a 27.5 per cent import tax.

Tariffs on steel and aluminium, which had also been increased to 25 per cent, have been scrapped while the two countries have agreed to allow the import of up to 13,000 metric tonnes of beef from the other without tariffs.

The US said the deal would create an export opportunity worth around £3.8 billion for businesses.

Emily Stubbs, head of policy at Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, said the trade deal would come as "a huge sigh of relief" for many businesses in the West Midlands.

"Among the biggest wins are the reduction in tariffs on our automotive exports as well as the removal of levies on steel and aluminium," she said.

"The deal provides much-needed certainty at a time when businesses are operating in a challenging environment.

"But this must not be the end of the process - the Government must continue to push for free and fair trade across all economic sectors and that tariffs are a lose-lose position."

Janie Frampton, president of the Greater Birmingham Global Chamber of Commerce, added: "Following on from the India trade deal, the Government should be congratulated on what it has achieved this week.

"There is a high-level of co-dependency in our economic relationship with the United States and it is in both our interests to continue building upon those strong foundations which have developed over decades."

Steve Rigby is co-chief executive of The Rigby Group which owns a broad range of companies including IT services firm SCC and four airports including Coventry.

Earlier this week, the business released a report commissioned by West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker which in the region could be left worse off by the impact of President Trump's tariffs prior to a deal being struck.

Mr Rigby said: "This deal moves us out of the red zone - it comes just in time for the West Midlands economy and the º£½ÇÊÓƵ's car industry and reflects the Government's smart strategy in negotiations over recent months.

"The implications of 'No deal' would have been felt by the automotive sector within weeks which makes securing a deal so quickly an extremely positive development.

"We now need to move ahead with the terms we have and make it a success.

"No concession on auto tariffs would have been detrimental to the West Midlands and dealt a massive blow to the º£½ÇÊÓƵ's economy and now is the time to make it work."

A new trade deal with the US will alleviate some uncertainty for businesses in Coventry and Warwickshire, according to the head of the area's chamber.

Corin Crane, chief executive of the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, said he hoped the move would alleviate a lot of the uncertainty which had been around in recent weeks.

"It is encouraging to see that the tariffs on º£½ÇÊÓƵ steel and aluminium have been removed and tariffs faced by the automotive industry have also been revised to ten per cent - something which will have a particularly positive impact for us in the Midlands and give the sector some much-needed clarity," he said.

"But there is still work to be done to enhance the deal and free up trade conditions further.

"Most importantly, this may give us some of the stability our local business community have been craving, as long as nothing changes, they can start to plan."

West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker described it as a "significant moment", saying nowhere was better placed to benefit than this region.

"We make things the world wants - from electric vehicles and precision engineering to digital innovation and health tech," he said.

"This deal means fewer barriers for our businesses and more opportunities to sell to the world's biggest economy. West Midlands firms have been clear with me - they wanted a deal and they needed speed.

"This is a moment to back our strengths, back our exporters and show that regions like the West Midlands are vital to the º£½ÇÊÓƵ's future success."

Excavator manufacturer JCB, whose global headquarters is in Staffordshire, has welcomed the deal announcement and called on Prime Minister Keir Starmer to ensure this is the start, not the end, of negotiations.

Chief executive Graeme Macdonald said: "As a º£½ÇÊÓƵ manufacturer, JCB welcomes the reduction in car export tariffs.

"Likewise, we share in the relief that the º£½ÇÊÓƵ steel industry must feel right now knowing that tariffs on steel exports will drop.

"However, the PM and the Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds must now go further and negotiate the removal of the ten per cent baseline tariff on º£½ÇÊÓƵ-made construction equipment as well as on all º£½ÇÊÓƵ-made cars and all other traded goods."

Sarah Moorhouse, chief executive of Black Country Chamber of Commerce, said the trade deal finally brought much-needed certainty after a prolonged period of trade tensions.

"This is a major step forward for trade on both sides of the Atlantic," she said.

"Now that we have the details, businesses across the Black Country can begin planning with more confidence. Many of our members, including those in the automotive supply chain supplying to the likes of Jaguar Land Rover and Aston Martin, will welcome the reduction in car export tariffs.

"With the quota covering almost all of last year's exports, this represents a significant saving that should help secure jobs across our region.

"Having spoken to a number of businesses involved in import and export in the last couple of weeks, the elimination of the 25 per cent tariff on steel exports to the US is perhaps the most critical development.

"Our steel and aluminium industry has faced enormous challenges and this zero-tariff arrangement provides essential breathing space."