Rishi Sunak and Joe Biden seek trade deal before 2024 elections in major win
Rishi Sunak and Joe Biden are drawing up a “foundational” post-Brexit UK-US trade deal that could be sealed before both leaders face re-election in 2024.
A fresh round of talks are set to begin later this month, with the early part of the agreement designed to be finalised by spring 2024.
This is according to a report from Politico, citing a leaked draft plan prepared by the US Trade Representative’s (USTR) office at the end of August.
However, the outline deal set out in these papers does not reportedly include the market access commitments required for a formal free trade agreement that would be in line with the views of the World Trade Organization.
But regardless, it would be a massive step forward in negotiations between the two global superpowers.
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A person familiar with the discussions told Politico: “We’re discussing and considering a range of things, but all is very much in early stages and nothing has been finalized yet.”
The initiative has been tentatively dubbed the US-UK Trade Partnership Forum (TPF).
It will aim to “negotiate a new, foundational trade agreement to create a permanent mechanism to coordinate and cooperate on trade policy issues of mutual interest and to further deepen existing trade ties” between the two countries.
There could however be stumbling blocks along the way as the Biden administration reportedly wants concessions on agriculture in any deal.
But a UK government official told Politico that the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs is “blocking this”.
US farming practices such as chlorine-washed chicken and hormone-injected beef had become significant sticking points between former leaders Boris Johnson and Donald Trump.
A British agriculture lobbyist told the publication: “Presumably it won’t include those because it’s been a red line for Rishi Sunak.”
They warned otherwise, it would be a “major climbdown” for the Prime Minister after he said earlier this year that chlorine-washed chicken and hormone-injected beef would be banned from the British market.
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The pact that being discussed between the two sides is modelled on the US-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF), according to a business consultant speaking to Politico.
They said this would provide “a framework that helps with the alignment of standards and regulations in a coherent way.”
But the person warned the biggest negative of the pact is there’s “no market access”. This is something the Biden administration is not offering to any trade partners.
The business consultant also warned the timeline for the initial chapters to be finalised in the pact is tight, adding: Unless you do it that fast, it’s not getting through Congress before both UK and US elections.”
Duncan Edwards, chief executive of BritishAmerican Business, a trans-Atlantic business lobby, believes there is a “a real appetite in the House for a trade agreement with the UK.
He said: “If an agreement was negotiated, it would definitely get approved in the House, assuming we could solve the problems around agriculture.”
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