From Brexit to Texas — ‘UK is open for business’
British trade policy minister talks commerce on Houston visit
The United Kingdom, unanchored by the European Union following a historic exit from the trading bloc, is setting its sights on the United States for a new trade deal. But choppy waters are ahead.
A free trade agreement between the U.S. and the U.K. would need to satisfy both the British public and a Republican-led U.S. Senate. On everything from food standards to drug prices to digital services there are sharply different priorities on either side of the pond.
For now, Conor Burns, U.K. minister of state for trade policy in the
Department for International Trade, decided to skip the transatlantic debate altogether, opting instead for the Gulf.
In Burns’ first international trip since Brexit, he came straight to Texas.
Burns, who was appointed to the Department for International Trade by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson last July, visited Houston last week to meet with companies and local policymakers. He said that visiting Texas, a “beacon” of free market capitalism, would send a strong signal that the British economy is open for business. Trade between the Houston region and the U.K. averages about $5.9 billion per year. The U.K. was the region’s ninth top trading partner in 2019.
Burns spoke with the Houston Chronicle about British priorities for a free trade agreement with the U.S. and what Brexit could mean for Texans.
Q: Texas is the first place you came following the U.K. leaving the European Union. Why?
A: I wanted to come to one of the fastest-growing and fastest-diversifying economies within the United States to send a signal that the process of leaving the European Union is not about pulling up the drawbridge in the U.K. between the U.S. and Europe, it’s about reaching out to parts of the world that perhaps
we haven’t given focus to while we’ve been distracted by our membership with the EU.
Q: What are your priorities in Texas?
A: Texas, as an economy, is a beacon of liberalization of low taxes, light regulation and an economy that starts with the premise that they want business to do business. My number one priority is to send the signal — to shout it from the rooftops — that the U.K. is open for business.
Q: There’s not much Houston can do if tariffs exist. Is Washington part of your trip?
A: Washington is not. There have already been substantial conversations between the prime minister and the president. The point of me being here is to say, yes, there is a huge amount that a free trade agreement can deliver — a sort of icing on the cake. But Texas is a massive slice of the cake that is currently un-iced. There’s a lot we can do in terms of market access at a state level.
Q: How do you see energy companies fitting into the U.K.’s trade negotiations?
A: We want to partner with U.S. companies to see how we can work together to ensure that we have a greener, cleaner, more sustainable energy mix. It’s very easy for us in the West to beat ourselves up and introduce very draconian measures (to reduce CO2 emissions). But if you closed down the U.K. economy for a year, the difference it would make to global carbon emissions would be within the margin of error. The opportunity for highly developed countries in the West is to share our (renewable energy) technology with those (countries) that are just now going through their industrial revolution. We see that Shell and BP are already starting to emerge as global leaders in those renewable fields.
Q: What opportunities do you see between the U.S. oil and gas industry and the U.K.?
A: BP is now a global leader in solar and wind. I’m not suggesting that these big oil and gas companies stop their current model tomorrow, but they are looking at the gradual global shift in how the world is going to want to see energy generated. I think there’s an opportunity in cooperation and partnership for (the U.K.) to be part of that gradual transition. It is often companies and sectors that have made their money on old technology who
use their power to be the leaders in the investment to create the next generation of technologies — technology that makes the technology they made their fortunes on redundant.
Q: Do you see climate change policy as a source of tension during the upcoming trade talks between the U.S. and the U.K.?
A: Clearly, we have, as countries, as governments, slightly different approaches to this. I don’t think it should necessarily create tensions within the trade agreements.
Q: What fears are you encountering when you’re meeting with Texas companies? Are they even willing to look at opportunities in the U.K. without having a free trade deal?
A: I’m not meeting fear, I’m meeting a degree of interest and excitement. It’s the sense of: What does your leaving the EU mean for us? What are you now free to do that you weren’t free to do before? (Texas) is one of the fastest-growing states within the U.S., and I see nothing but opportunities.
Q: Do you see yourself, the U.K., as in competition with the EU?
A: Everyone is competition with everybody else, that’s the
nature of global commerce.
Q: The U.K. economy compared to the U.S. is relatively small. Do you feel that you have the clout to develop a favorable trade deal?
A: Where there is political will on both sides, it is possible to expedite the process of a trade agreement. We have made clear that the U.S. is a priority nation for us. And the president has made it very clear that it is priority for him as well. If anything, the message coming out of Washington from the president is that they’ve been itching for Britain to be let off the lead.
Q: Do you think the U.S. and the U.K. will have a trade agreement before the U.K. and the E.U.?
A: The president has said he wants to do it this year. We have until the 31st of December to conclude a deal with the EU. As an observer of politics, I would suggest that if we’re going to do it this year, it would need to be concluded before the November presidential election. So, if it is to be done this year, I think there is a strong chance it could be done before our deal is finalized with the EU.