Hopes of UK-Trump trade deal
MINISTERS want to sign a “statement of intent” deal with Donald Trump within months to work on reducing trade barriers between the US and UK,
The Sunday Telegraph understands. Government figures hope to fly to America early next year for talks, with a view to issuing a joint agreement promising to boost trade.
Crucially, it would not break EU rules that forbid Britain signing full trade deals until it has formally left the block, currently expected to be in 2019.
The plan, which could mean launching a working group to identify possible reforms, is a stepping stone to a fullblown trade deal after Brexit.
Trade officials will target reducing non-tariff barriers, such as ironing out differences in regulation in the two countries to help exporters.
“Donald Trump’s victory opens up new options that weren’t there under the current administration. We are
optimistic and waiting to hear what his trading position will look like,” a senior Whitehall source said.
There is hope in Government that Mr Trump can boost Britain’s chances of flourishing after leaving the EU.
He praised the Brexit vote during his election campaign while his advisers said Britain would not be at the “back of the queue” for a trade deal – as Barack Obama had said before the EU referendum.
Britain is barred from signing any trade deal while still in the EU, so the International Trade Department is limited in what it can agree before Brexit.
Theresa May is hoping to fly out to meet Mr Trump in January and would be likely to take senior trade figures, as she did on her recent trip to India. The date has been marked by Whitehall figures as the earliest possible moment to agree a pro-trade “statement of intent”.
The Queen is expected to invite Mr Trump to the UK next summer.
America is Britain’s single biggest export market and there is a belief that boosting trade by just half a per cent could be of big financial benefit. British trade officials will be looking at options for “widening and deepening” links with America. Shanker Singham, chairman of Legatum Institute’s special trade commission, who advised Mitt Romney during his two US presidential bids, said: “There is no particular standard way of doing a trade agreement. Generally, first year or so is essentially a stock-taking exercise.
“Like pulling weeds, you need to know what the actual barriers are before drawing up a deal.”
America’s network of regulations is especially complex because there are often different rules for each of the 50 states, making it harder for British firms to export. Breweries, for instance, have to contest with different labelling rules in each state, Mr Shanker said.
However, the Department for International Trade is understood to be wary of pursuing a deal too aggressively. There is a determination that talks cannot begin in earnest with the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, a trade deal between the US and EU, still on the table. However, Mr Trump is expected to withdraw his support for the deal soon.
In a separate development, Jeremy Corbyn yesterday launched his strongest attack against Mr Trump since his US election victory. The Labour leader called him a “climate denier” who will not defend the world’s environment.