The UK is seeking to restart talks with the US for a trade deal, people familiar with the matter said, hoping to overcome President Joe Biden’s reluctance over agreements that are unpopular with key American voters, according to Bloomberg.
British officials are expected to privately lobby their American counterparts to reopen dialogue when Biden visits Northern Ireland on April 11, according to the people, who requested anonymity discussing the British government’s internal thinking.
Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch has been leading UK efforts to get what the government hopes will be a trade deal in “all but name.”
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government is pushing for a deal that his ruling Conservative Party has long sold as one of the biggest potential benefits of leaving the European Union. Discussions had progressed during the administration of former US President Donald Trump, before Biden came to power and put them on ice.
UK officials have now drawn up plans for a multi-stage road map, according to the people. The first step would be a formal agreement covering areas that were largely concluded in talks with the Trump administration, such as enhancing opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises.
The next would be to negotiate unresolved issues not relating to market access. The final stage would be the most politically and technically difficult: negotiating market access and the reduction or removal of tariffs.
The UK will also propose more favorable terms for local businesses that could be impacted by Biden’s recent package of clean-energy subsidies and tax breaks in the Inflation Reduction Act.
When asked about the plan, the Department for Business and Trade said only that the UK would “continue working with the US at a state and federal level to unlock huge opportunities for businesses and boost collaboration on SMEs, supply chains and digital trade.”
Sunak, who took office after his predecessor’s resignation in October, is seeking to maintain momentum after recent successes striking deals on immigration with Albania and France, passing a budget with minimal political fallout and renegotiating some of the terms of Brexit.
Sunak and Badenoch hope that the Brexit agreement pertaining to Northern Ireland in particular, which the Biden administration welcomed, will unlock trade talks again with the US, people familiar with their thinking said. Relations between the London and Washington had been tested by the UK’s recent standoff with the European Union over Northern Ireland.
UK officials are hopeful that a positive announcement showing progress toward an FTA-style deal with the US could be made before the next general election, likely in 2024, one of the people familiar said. Sunak is seeking a June visit to Washington, which could provide a second opportunity to make his case, the people said.