Biden abandons plans for trade pact with UK
President Joe Biden has abandoned plans for a trade deal with the United Kingdom that would have paved the way for a comprehensive post-Brexit trade agreement, The Telegraph reported on Wednesday.
According to the report, the American leader decided not to move forward with a "fundamental" agreement prepared by the U.S. Office of the Trade Representative, which would have included negotiations in 11 areas of trade and regulation, following opposition from his party in the Senate.
Democrats in the Senate argued that the agreement would not have provided enough protection for American workers, according to Politico.
The United Kingdom's hopes of striking a free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States date back to before the Brexit referendum and faced an early setback when Barack Obama told voters that the UK would go "to the back of the queue" for a deal if it left the EU.
But despite U.S. support for an FTA in the early days of Donald Trump's presidency in 2016, the chances of an agreement have now fallen to "zero" under Biden's leadership, the government believes.
The "fundamental" agreement was seen as a roadmap to a comprehensive FTA and could have been agreed as part of negotiations that began at the end of this year. The prospect was discussed "on the margins" of talks on the Atlantic Declaration, a joint economic partnership statement published in June, but has since foundered, insiders have said.
A British government source told Politico that "the vibes have been pretty tough" from the Biden administration, which is under pressure from hard-line Democrats concerned about American production and agriculture.
Biden is also concerned about the impact of any agreement on his own "Bidenomics" policies, which seek to protect American industry from imported goods.
In the meantime, Downing Street has refused to back down from its position that the UK will not accept chlorine-washed chicken — a major demand from U.S. officials who hope to boost agricultural exports to the UK.
A spokesperson for Ron Wyden, the Democratic senator who chairs the Senate Finance Committee, said that "trade negotiations should be driven by evidence."
"Senator Wyden believes the United States and the United Kingdom should not make announcements until a deal that is in the best interests of Americans can be reached," he added.
On the occasion of a visit to the United States to sign the Atlantic Declaration this summer, Rishi Sunak acknowledged that an FTA with the Biden administration was unlikely.
"For some time now, this has not been a priority for either the United States or the United Kingdom. We are both focused on ensuring that our economic partnership reflects the unique challenges and opportunities of the period we are now in," he noted.
The Atlantic Declaration includes measures such as data connectivity between the UK and the United States, which allows businesses to transfer data between countries, and a new partnership on nuclear energy.
In the absence of a full FTA with the United States, the British government has begun signing "memorandums of understanding" (MOUs) with individual states — the most recent of which was signed last month by Kemi Badenoch, the secretary of state for business and commerce, and Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida.
Memorandums of understanding cannot circumvent federal trade barriers, but are designed to encourage trade cooperation. To date, seven have been signed — with Indiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Utah, Washington, and Florida.
"The United Kingdom and the United States are rapidly expanding cooperation on a range of vital economic and commercial issues, building on the Atlantic Declaration announced earlier this year," a spokesperson for the British government said.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
