WASHINGTON, May 9, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - US President Donald Trump said Thursday he hoped to meet "fantastic" EU chief Ursula von der Leyen, as a trade deal with Britain boosted hopes for other countries' tariff negotiations.

"She's so fantastic. I hope we're gonna meet," Trump told reporters as he unveiled the US-UK trade agreement, his first deal with any country since he unleashed a blitz of sweeping global levies.

"The European Union's big thing, they wanna make a deal very badly. Everybody wants to make a deal with the United States, so we're doing that," Trump added.

Several countries have lined up to hold talks with Washington to avert the worst of the duties that range from 10 percent to as high as 145 percent on China -- Trump's main target.

The US president announced a 20-percent tariff on most EU goods in April, along with higher duties on dozens of other nations, but has since frozen the measure until July.

But he maintained a "baseline" 10-percent tariff on imports from around the world, including the 27-nation bloc.

Trump said the British deal would be the first of many, and that he hoped difficult talks with the EU -- as well as China -- could soon produce results too.

Britain had made a major push to avoid Trump's tariffs, which the Republican insists are necessary to stop the United States from being "ripped off" by other countries.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer launched a charm offensive as early as February when he came to the White House armed with an invitation from King Charles III for a historic second state visit for Trump.

The reward came with the trade deal slashing export tariffs for British cars from 27.5 percent to 10 percent, Britain said.