First Amendment: Last update:
LONDON (AFP) – The United Kingdom, which has so far failed to conclude a post-Brexit trade deal with the United States, will host US Trade Representative Catherine Taye on Monday and Tuesday for a new round of bilateral talks.
The two countries began a series of “transatlantic talks” aimed at boosting trade in late March, and Britain’s International Trade Secretary, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, met the US official in Baltimore.
London and Washington were able to resolve their dispute over steel and aluminum on that occasion, but it appears that the Joe Biden administration is in no hurry to resume negotiating the free trade agreement that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has long wanted.
This time the meetings will take place on Monday in the Scottish city of Aberdeen and on Tuesday in London.
These talks “give us a platform to explore more modern and digital ways of doing business” and make it “cheaper for companies in Scotland and across the UK to do business” with the US, Trevelyan said, without mentioning the free deal. trade.
The UK intends to focus talks on “agreed priorities” such as the digital sector, innovation, “green” trade, support for small and medium-sized businesses and strengthening supply chains.
Since Brexit, effective January 1, 2021, London has been negotiating agreements around the world to boost its international trade.
Signing a bilateral treaty with the United States was one of Britain’s great priorities. The Donald Trump administration seemed ready to do so, but with Biden’s rise to power, the process dwindled.
London is also considering the possibility of individual agreements with up to 20 US states, although these would not be binding.
© 2022 AFP
