[CTC] UK: First round of trade talks with U.S. ‘positive and constructive’

[Arthur Stamoulis]

UK: First round of trade talks with U.S. ‘positive and constructive’
Inside US Trade,  05/14/2020
The first round of negotiations between the U.S. and United Kingdom, which ended last week, was “positive and constructive,” British trade secretary Elizabeth Truss said on Monday, adding that the two sides placed “significant emphasis” on post-pandemic recovery and identified digital trade, services and investment as mutually high-ambition areas. 

The next two-week negotiating session is scheduled to begin on June 15, with the two sides continuing discussions in the meantime. The first round was held remotely and the second round is expected to be so as well.

“The meetings were positive and constructive, reflecting the mutual commitment to secure an ambitious agreement that significantly boosts trade and investment between our economies,” Truss said in a statement <https://insidetrade.com/sites/insidetrade.com/files/documents/2020/may/wto2020_0228.pdf>. “Both sides recognised the unprecedented circumstances in which these negotiations took place, with significant emphasis placed on supporting the post-Covid economic recovery.”

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative did not return a request for comment on the talks and Truss’ statement.

The first round aimed to begin talks on all chapters of a potential comprehensive deal, Inside U.S. Trade reported earlier this month <https://insidetrade.com/node/168755>. Truss confirmed the two sides held “extensive discussions” in close to 30 different groups “covering all aspects of a comprehensive trade agreement.”

She listed the areas that were covered, including potentially contentious ones like trade remedies, sanitary and phytosanitary standards, market access, procurement and state-owned enterprises. The British shadow trade secretary, the Labour Party’s Emily Thornberry, called on Truss last week <https://insidetrade.com/node/168797> not to accept any provision similar to the one in the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement that allows signatories to withdraw if another party aims to secure a trade deal with a “non-market country.” The USMCA provision is seen as a reference to China.

Some areas “showed particular progress” and “positive alignment between respective negotiating positions,” Truss said. She cited “a mutually high ambition for services, investment and digital trade” in particular.

The two sides expect the second round of talks again will cover “all areas to be included in a Free Trade Agreement,” according to Truss.

U.S. and UK officials have said they believe the countries can progress quickly given their close economic relationship and the groundwork laid by a U.S.-UK working group that met while the UK was still working to disentangle itself from the European Union.

“During the meetings, the teams discussed their respective objectives and agreed on ambitious next steps for coming talks,” Truss said. “Our preparatory work makes it possible for the UK and United States to quickly advance negotiations in a number of substantive areas that will shape our future bilateral trade relationship.”

Barring an extension, a transition period between the UK and EU -- where the UK still operates under the EU single market, as well as the bloc’s rules -- is slated to expire in December. The UK cannot sign a new trade agreement until then.

 
Arthur Stamoulis
Citizens Trade Campaign
(202) 494-8826




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