BritishAmerican Business Publishes UK-U.S. Free Trade Agreement Roadmap

16 October 2020
Contact: Dominic Parker, Communications Manager dparker@babinc.org | 020 7290 9882 | +44 7500 115352

London – Today, BritishAmerican Business launched its latest paper, Charting a Course: A Roadmap to a Comprehensive UK-U.S. Free Trade Agreement, setting out a path to achieving a comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (FTA) being agreed by the United Kingdom and United States. 

Reaching a comprehensive Free Trade Agreement between the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States (U.S.) is one of the most ambitious and significant political projects in the transatlantic corridor. The negotiations enjoy much positive momentum and the UK’s and U.S.’s commitment and preparation have allowed for unprecedented speed in the talks. Yet, events such as the U.S. elections, the UK’s negotiations with the EU, and the upcoming renewal of the U.S. Trade Promotion Authority in July 2021 will have a significant impact on the UK-U.S. FTA negotiation timeline. 

Drawing on years of extensive work that BritishAmerican Business and its members have done in support of further transatlantic integration, this paper takes into consideration key events and issues that define what may be achieved in these talks, and by when.  

The paper sets out broad recommendations for both UK and U.S. governments, such as: 

  • Reaching a credible negotiation stage ahead of the U.S. elections and a schedule for when to talks continue after, regardless of the outcome of the U.S. elections.  
  • Taking action to help reduce unnecessary transatlantic tensions and barriers created by U.S. tariffs on British products in context of the WTO subsidy dispute, the further implementation of the Digital Tax in the UK and the current travel restrictions to the transatlantic corridor. 
  • An announcement by governments on progress made on key areas in the agreement, such as a Digital Trade chapter or a comprehensive Small Business chapter. 
  • Increasing efforts to make a local, tangible and specific case for the trade deal and responding to questions in the wider public. 
  • Reaching an agreement in April 2021 ahead of the renewal of the U.S.’s Trade Promotion Authority (TPA).  

Emanuel Adam, Executive Director London, Director of Policy & Trade, BritishAmerican Business said: 

“Charting a Course reflects some of the key issues that currently shape the scope, momentum, timeline and environment for the trade talks between the UK and the U.S. Putting them in context of each other establishes a roadmap.

“Addressing the issues that are part of it will be crucial if we wanted to achieve a comprehensive trade deal in time. A comprehensive UK-U.S. FTA offers the opportunity to strengthen what is already one of the most important economic relationships on earth. We hope that this document is a reference and a source of encouragement for all those involved.” 

Click here to read Charting a Course: A Roadmap to a Comprehensive UK-U.S. Free Trade Agreement