Reaching a trade deal between the U.S. and UK prior to the November 3 U.S. elections remains a goal, according to reports of remarks made by Her Majesty’s Trade Commissioner for North America Antony Phillipson at a Washington International Trade Association (WITA) even Thursday (June 11).
The two sides have a “shared ambition” for that goal. “If possible, we want to get an agreement signed before the election,” he said. Negotiators were working well before the first round of talks, Phillipson pointed out, saying the two sides were looking to get the deal done in a “very different” and “much quicker” way than previously.
Digital trade and taxation are key areas that Phillipson identified for the pact and the UK was disappointed there has not been more progress on that issue via the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Digital trade, intellectual property and data flows will be “key drivers in our view of the future of the global economy,” he observed.
While the two sides already have lofty standards in those areas, Phillipson said he thinks the trade deal provides a forum to “take that to even greater heights and then roll that discussion into a plurilateral and global forum.” The two sides are “absolutely on the same page” relative to the Irish border issue, he added.
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