The British prime minister, Theresa May, and the new US president, Donald Trump, agreed during May’s visit to Washington on Friday 27 January to enter talks for a free-trade deal between the United Kingdom and the United States as soon as the UK leaves the EU ('Brexit').
Theresa May said at a joint press conference the American president: ‘Trump and I have mentioned future economic cooperation and trade, trade between our two countries is already worth over £150 billion a year. The US is the single biggest source of inward investment into the UK, and together we’ve around $1 trillion invested in each other’s economies (...)And I think the President and I are ambitious to build on this relationship in order to grow our respective economies, provide the high-skilled, high paid jobs as a future for working people across America and across the UK, and so, we are discussing how we can establish trade negotiation agreement, take forward immediate high level talks, lay the groundwork for UK-US trade agreement and identify the practical steps we can take now in order to enable companies in both countries to trade and do business with one another more easily.’
May added: ‘I’m convinced that a trade deal between the US and the UK is in the national interest of both countries and will cement the crucial relationship that exists between us, particularly as the UK leaves the European Union and reaches out to the world.’
A spokesperson for Mrs May is reported in several media as saying at the weekend that joint working groups would be set up to lay the foundations for the future agreement. There will also be discussions about the scrapping of non-tariff trade barriers that block the export of British agri-food products to the United States and the mutual recognition of professional qualifications to facilitate the exchange of workers between the two countries.
Malmström expects talks to be complicated. In an interview with French newspaper Le Monde at the weekend, Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström said it was to be expected that London would make contacts and study future prospects, but the UK cannot sign a trade deal with the United States overnight. Last week, the European Commission said on several occasions that the UK would not be able to begin free-trade talks with other countries until it has actually left the EU.
Malmström said the British would realise that it is easier to negotiate with a population of 500 million than 65 million and members of the British government are starting to understand that a trade deal is highly complex, involving discussions about opening up public procurement, customs cooperation, anti-corruption measures and more besides. Even with the best will in the world, Malmström said, that takes time and the rhetoric of ‘Buy American’ will make it very difficult. Unless, said the Commissioner, they aim first for a very modest agreement, starting with eliminating customs duties. (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)