UK govt wants US trade deal quickly
Glimmer of hope
LONDON, Aug 24, (RTRS): Britain wants to agree a post-Brexit trade deal with the United States quickly, but the terms have to work for both sides, a British spokeswoman said on Friday ahead of a meeting between Prime Minister Boris Johnson and President Trump.
Johnson, only a month into his leadership, will travel to the French seaside resort of Biarritz on Saturday for a G7 summit where his every move will be scrutinised for clues on how he will position Britain between the European Union and the United States after leaving the EU on Oct 31.
He will meet Trump on Sunday morning for what are expected to be positive talks on trade and Brexit, as well as covering international topics where the two sides do not see eye to eye, like Russia, the Iran nuclear deal and trade policy on China.
Both Britain and the United States have talked up the prospect of a UK-US trade deal – seen by Brexit advocates as one of the main advantages of leaving the EU - but critics say Trump’s administration will drive a hard bargain.
Rush
On Friday, the government said it would not rush into a deal, cooling expectations of any formal timetable for trade talks being agreed in Biarritz.
“Of course we want to move quickly, but we want to get the right deal that works for both sides,” the spokeswoman told reporters.
Britain has so far failed to agree a deal with the EU to mitigate the disruption caused by its unprecedented departure from the EU, increasing the chances of an unmanaged exit that would shock the global economy.
The government has previously rejected criticism from the opposition Labour Party and others that a trade deal with the US could compromise Britain’s state-funded National Health Service and lower food and animal welfare standards.
Earlier this month, senior Trump adviser John Bolton came to London with a message from Trump that the United States would do whatever it could to help the country through Brexit and set aside thornier diplomatic issues until later.
Bolton also mooted the possibility of a series of rapid sector-bysector trade deals that could take effect as early as Nov 1, although Britain has expressed a preference for one overarching deal.
Meanwhile, Britain is hoping the rest of the European Union falls in behind France and Germany and agrees to work on solving a deadlock over Brexit, with officials sensing a glimmer of hope after meetings this week, but conscious of the need for a wider consensus in Europe.
Leave
Britain is on course to leave the EU, its biggest trading partner, on Oct 31 without any formal deal to soften the unprecedented divorce, unless both sides agree to reopen stalled talks and find a way to resolve their differences.
This week, some British newspapers cheered what they called a major breakthrough and sterling rose after both German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron offered Prime Minister Boris Johnson what he described as “positive noises” on their willingness to consider an exit deal agreement.
But Berlin, Paris and Brussels said the bloc’s position had not altered: the Withdrawal Agreement struck last year by then-prime minister Theresa May will not be changed much. And the clock is ticking.
British officials were also keen to douse talk of a big diplomatic victory but said they were pleased at the way the prime minister’s first foreign visits had gone and that there had been a clear willingness to talk about solutions.
A separate source in Johnson’s office said that while the meetings had been a success in terms of building rapport between the prime minister and the EU’s two most powerful leaders, the rest of the bloc needed to show the same desire to work on a solution.
The source said Johnson would not make the mistake of thinking Merkel alone could deliver a new deal for Britain, criticising previous governments for being too keen on the idea that the German chancellor could be Britain’s “saviour”.
In an encouraging sign, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said on Friday he would be willing to listen to alternative plans for the Irish backstop - the biggest stumbling point to agreement – but warned there was no easy solution.