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US-UK Trade on Agenda in July

UK’s Secretary of State for International Trade Liam Fox visited Washington 22-25 July to kick off the first US-UK Trade and Investment Working Group with US Trade Representative, Ambassador Lighthizer.

Their Joint Statement:

US Trade Representative, Ambassador Robert Lighthizer said:

”I warmly welcome Dr. Fox and his team back to Washington to kick off the first meeting of the US-UK Trade and Investment Working Group.

“We expect this Working Group to be a key mechanism to deepen our already strong bilateral trade and investment relationship, and to lay the groundwork for our future trade relationship once the UK has left the EU.

“I look forward to building on our already strong economic relationship and furthering our mutual goal of achieving free and fair trade and investment to create good-paying jobs on both sides of the Atlantic.”

UK’s International Trade Secretary, Dr Liam Fox said:

“It is a testament to the political will in both countries that this Working Group is meeting just a month after Ambassador Lighthizer and I discussed it in June. This will be our forum to strengthen the bilateral trade and investment relationship and deepen the already extensive economic ties between the UK and US.

“The immediate priority is to give businesses on both sides of the Atlantic certainty and confidence. Early discussions will focus on providing commercial continuity for US and UK businesses as the UK leaves the EU.

“The working group will also start to lay the ground work for potential negotiations on an ambitious free trade agreement. The US is our single largest trading partner therefore we have a strong foundation on which to build.”

Also BABA’s Chairman and President joined Dr. Fox for trade discussions at an Embassy dinner and Dr. Fox gave a speech on UK trade policy at AEI and launched the UK Trade and Investment Highlights report for 435 US Congressional Districts. The UK is in the top five export markets in over 300 Congressional US districts and supports over 700,000 US jobs via exports to the UK.

In addition, Dr Fox gave a speech on the future of UK trade policy at AEI and launched the UK Trade and Investment Highlights in the 435 US Congressional Districts. This report showed the UK is among the top five export markets for more than 300 Congressional Districts in the US and supports more than 700,000 US jobs through exports to the UK.

The second round of the Brexit negotiations were completed in July. Secretary of State for the Department for Exiting the European Union, David Davis, said discussions focused on understanding each other’s position on citizens’ rights; the financial settlement; the first meetings of sub-groups on separation issues, and on the issues around Ireland and Northern Ireland.

The UK Prime Minister's Speech to the Republican Party Conference

On January 26 Prime Minister Theresa May addressed the Republican Party Conference and spoke about the special relationship between the UK and the USA.

The UK Government's negotiating objectives for exiting the EU: PM Speech 17 January 2017

Prime Minister Theresa May sets out the 12 negotiating priorities for Brexit as part of the Plan for Britain after leaving the EU.

UK Prime Minister's speech to the Confederation of British Industry: 21 November 2016

UK Prime Minister Theresa May said: “There are opportunities too. Opportunities to get out into the world and do new business with old allies and new partners. To use the freedoms that come from negotiating with partners directly, to be flexible, to set our own rules and forge new and dynamic trading agreements that work for the whole UK. Opportunities to become the true global champion of free trade.” [...]

“We have already received massive votes of confidence in Britain’s long-term future from some of the world’s most innovative companies. Nissan’s decision to build 2 next-generation models at its plant in the North East, securing 7,000 jobs. A record £24 billion investment from Softbank in Britain’s future; a £500 million expansion and 3,000 jobs from Jaguar Land Rover; a £200 million investment from Honda, £275 million from GlaxoSmithKline; investment in a new headquarters from Apple; an estimated £1 billion investment and 3,000 new jobs from Google; and this morning Facebook have announced a 50% increase in their workforce in the UK by the end of 2017.” [...]

“We will commit to substantial real terms increases in government investment in R&D – investing an extra £2 billion a year by the end of this Parliament to help put post-Brexit Britain at the cutting edge of science and tech.” [...]

“And we will also review the support we give innovative firms through the tax system.” [...]

PM call with President-elect Donald Trump: 10 November 2016

Prime Minister Theresa May spoke with President-elect Donald Trump today to congratulate him on his election victory.

A Downing Street spokesperson said:

The Prime Minister spoke to US President-elect Donald Trump earlier this afternoon to congratulate him on his hard-fought election campaign and victory. The President-elect said he very much looked forward to working with the Prime Minister and congratulated her on her recent appointment.

The Prime Minister and President-elect Trump agreed that the US-UK relationship was very important and very special, and that building on this would be a priority for them both. President-elect Trump set out his close and personal connections with, and warmth for, the UK. He said he was confident that the special relationship would go from strength to strength.

Post Brexit: A Period of Adjustment for the UK

The UK is well-placed to take advantage of the opportunities that leaving the EU creates to shape its economy so that it works for everyone. While it is too early to tell what the economic impact of leaving the EU will be, we recognise there may be some difficult times ahead. But we enter a period of adjustment from a position of economic strength and we have the tools we need to address the challenges ahead. For example, the UK’s corporate tax will be lowered to 17% in 2020, which will benefit over a million companies large and small.
Already, the Bank of England has launched a significant monetary stimulus package, cutting interest rates to their lowest-ever at 0.25% and Treasury is ensuring stability by underwriting all structural and investment fund projects signed before the Autumn Statement on 23 November and EU funded projects, like Horizon 2020, even when projects continue beyond the UK’s departure from the EU.
Prime Minister Theresa May said during the G20 Summit, “The UK has always been a strong partner for the US and that will remain the case. We have a thriving economic relationship. British businesses export twice as much to the United States as they do to our next largest market, and United States is the largest inward investor in Britain with total American investments providing more than one million jobs. We need to build on that strong foundation as the UK leaves the EU.”
As a sign of the continued strength of the special relationship, we will be opening three new UK government offices in the US to grow our economic partnership between the US and UK. They will be opening this autumn in Raleigh, North Carolina, Minneapolis, Minnesota, and San Diego, California.

Global search launched to recruit Permanent Secretary for Department for International Trade

An open and fair competition to recruit a new Permanent Secretary to lead the Department for International Trade (DIT) was announced on September 8 by the International Trade Secretary Liam Fox. published 8 Sep 2016 News story UK remains number one investment destination in Europe Published 8 September 2016 news story

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