Biden ‘shelves UK trade deal’ ahead of election fight
JOE Biden has reportedly shelved a trade deal with the UK ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
Negotiations were due to go ahead before the end of this year according to a draft outline of the pact prepared by the United States Trade Representative’s (USTR) office, Politico reported.
But the US president has faced opposition at home and there have been disagreements between the US and the UK on the details of a deal.
One person familiar with the negotiations told Politico they did not believe the proposed deal would “re-emerge”.
Talks were intended to be finished before the US presidential election and the expected UK General Election next year.
The deal was reportedly closer to Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity than a full free trade deal because it only dealt with regulations and non-tariff barriers.
IPEF talks also collapsed last month when Biden faced criticism from senior Democrats because it was not strong enough on labour standards.
An IPEF-style deal was pitched by Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch in April when Biden visited Belfast.
One person briefed on recent talks between the two countries said “the vibes were quite tough” from American diplomats, adding: “They just doubled down on ‘you guys need to... put yourself in the shoes of somebody in Pennsylvania’.”
They said that the American negotiators gave the message: “Does this improve the lot of the farmers in Iowa? Does this help the US economy? And if it doesn’t, they’re not going to do it.”
There has also been pushback on the British side after Rishi Sunak previously ruled out allowing chemical washes or hormoneinjected beef imports into the UK.
The Scottish Government has also complained about a lack of consultation on the talks, with agriculture devolved to Holyrood.
A UK Government spokesperson told Politico: “The UK and US are rapidly expanding co-operation on a range of vital economic and trade issues building on the Atlantic Declaration announced this year.”