Trade with US on agenda at major city conference

AN IMPRESSIVE line-up of speakers will headline the major British American Business Council (BABC) annual conference when it heads to Birmingham next month.

The conference takes place from June 6 to 8 and is expected to attract delegates from all over Britain and North America.

America’s UK ambassador, Robert ‘Woody’ Johnson will be the keynote speaker at the event, and he will be joined on the podium by a host of other leading names from the world of politics and business.

Many will address the burning issue of Britain’s impending divorce from the European Union, and a major theme will be the opportunities available to do more trade with the US in the post-Brexit era.

Liam Fox, Secretary of State for International Trade, who is a leading Brexiteer, will also be one of the guests Mr Fox is a self-proclaimed staunch Eurosceptic, and has often spoke of the need for a clean break with Brussels.

He is, not surprisingly, bullish about the UK’s prospects after leaving the US.

Other speakers include Joe Brueselas, chief economist at RSM, who will also be adopting a post-Brexit theme. He will be speaking about the economic challenges facing business and industry, focusing on the US economic viewpoint on UK Brexit negotiations. Local speakers at the event – which takes place at the newly opened Birmingham Conservatoire, in Jennens Road, Eastside – include BABC Midlands president Professor Julian Beer, West Midlands mayor Andy Street, and Sir John Peace, the chairman of Midlands Engine. The BABC conference follows the success of Birmingham’s high-profile presence at last year’s event in Chicago. The conference is a highly soughtafter occasion for which many of the American states and British cities bid.

The event has previously been held in London, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Washington DC and Chicago.

The BABC, which incorporates British American Business, is the largest transatlantic business network, with 22 chapters and 2,000 member companies, including many of the world’s largest multinationals, based in major business centres throughout the North America and the UK.

The official conference hotel partner will be the Park Regis at Five Ways, Birmingham.

To find out more or to purchase tickets visit www.greaterbirminghamchambers.com