The United States will abandon plans for a “foundational” trade pact with the United Kingdom, Politico reported on Monday, citing sources close to the negotiations who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
According to the news site, the United States Trade Representative’s (USTR) office created a preliminary version of the agreement earlier this year. According to documents obtained by Politico, it addressed issues such as digital trade, labour protections, and agriculture. Negotiations on the agreement were scheduled to begin before the end of the year and conclude before next year’s elections in both the UK and the US. According to reports, the proposed agreement was far from a standard free trade agreement, but it was positioned as a road map to finally securing one.
According to sources, US President Joe Biden chose to shelve the agreement after several of its features were criticised in Congress. According to reports, lawmakers contended that the planned accord did not help the American people, particularly farmers and workers.
“Does this improve the lot of Iowa farmers?” Is this beneficial to the US economy? And if it doesn’t, they’re not going to do it,” one of the individuals said, summarising the reaction to the proposed agreement at a recent meeting between the US Trade Representative and senators.
Earlier reports indicated that the UK has reservations about the agreement, particularly over food safety. The UK Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs, according to a recent Guardian story, has been unhappy with the prospect of allowing American food products, which, are produced in accordance with lower regulatory standards, to enter the UK market.
Similar concerns were voiced by Scottish ministers, who in October demanded that London clarify whether the proposed deal will conform with UK’s high standards of food safety and animal welfare.
While some experts believe the agreement might be advantageous, particularly for the United Kingdom, others doubt if it is truly necessary.
“The trade has been going fine without it,” said Michael Mainelli, Lord Mayor of the City of London, in response to the report. According to the most recent UK official estimates, US-UK trade turnover in goods and services reached £310 billion ($392 billion) from Q3 2022 to Q2 2023, a 23.8% rise year on year. The United States remains the United Kingdom’s greatest trading partner, accounting for around 17% of overall UK commerce.
