Hopes of US trade deal dashed following damning Congress report
Brexit LIVE: Hopes of US trade deal dashed following damning Congress report
HOPES of a US trade deal could be put on the back burner following a report by US trade chiefs which revealed signing global trade deals including with the UK may not be an economic priority.
By ALEX SHIPMAN
PUBLISHED: 08:00, Sat, Jul 10, 2021 | UPDATED: 00:24, Sun, Jul 11, 2021
A report by the US International Trade Commission also found US trade deals have only had a “small, positive effect” on America's economic growth. The report, put forward by the US Congress, used 2017 as its base year where it revealed that trade deals only increased US economic output by $88.8billion or 0.5 percent of GDP.
Despite a commitment on a deal between US President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Boris Johnson at the G7, the US and UK have been struggling to reach an agreement on a long-running trade dispute over aircraft subsidies and steel but both sides agreed to suspend punitive tariffs on each other for four months while talks continued.
The White House yesterday stuck a more cautious tone over the signing of a trade deal.
A senior source told the Express: “We note the US Trade Commission report highly and will be taken into account.”
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, added: “I will note that as he [President Biden] looks at our global approach, our economic approach, he believes that we need to build the middle class, make sure we are making decisions through the prism of what’s going to help the middle class here in the United States.”
A report was released by the US Trade Commission commissioned by Congress (Image: GETTY)
Boris Johnson met President Biden at the G7 (Image: PA)
Opposition parties in the House of Commons last night raised concerns that a potential US trade deal could have a negative economic impact on the UK.
Drew Hendry, SNP MP for Inverness, said: “This clear change in mood in Washington concludes that a new trade agreement between the UK and the US is not a foregone conclusion as many within the Tory party believed.
“It also shows that the UK government’s approach to post-Brexit growth is utterly flawed and will cause excessive damage to our rural sector and the wider economy.
“The Tory argument that Brexit means more trade is a complete fallacy, with the UK’s trade with the rest of the world collapsing by almost £30 billion in the last 3 years.
“Instead of focusing on the national interest like any normal trading nation, the Tories are approaching negotiations with the attitude that any deal is a good deal to prove a hollow Brexit point.”
In response, a Department for International Trade source said Liz Truss was “regularly engaging” with US counterpart Katharine Tai.
Brexit LIVE: Hopes of US trade deal dashed following damning Congress report
HOPES of a US trade deal could be put on the back burner following a report by US trade chiefs which revealed signing global trade deals including with the UK may not be an economic priority.
By ALEX SHIPMAN
PUBLISHED: 08:00, Sat, Jul 10, 2021 | UPDATED: 00:24, Sun, Jul 11, 2021
A report by the US International Trade Commission also found US trade deals have only had a “small, positive effect” on America's economic growth. The report, put forward by the US Congress, used 2017 as its base year where it revealed that trade deals only increased US economic output by $88.8billion or 0.5 percent of GDP.
Despite a commitment on a deal between US President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Boris Johnson at the G7, the US and UK have been struggling to reach an agreement on a long-running trade dispute over aircraft subsidies and steel but both sides agreed to suspend punitive tariffs on each other for four months while talks continued.
The White House yesterday stuck a more cautious tone over the signing of a trade deal.
A senior source told the Express: “We note the US Trade Commission report highly and will be taken into account.”
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, added: “I will note that as he [President Biden] looks at our global approach, our economic approach, he believes that we need to build the middle class, make sure we are making decisions through the prism of what’s going to help the middle class here in the United States.”
A report was released by the US Trade Commission commissioned by Congress (Image: GETTY)
Boris Johnson met President Biden at the G7 (Image: PA)
Opposition parties in the House of Commons last night raised concerns that a potential US trade deal could have a negative economic impact on the UK.
Drew Hendry, SNP MP for Inverness, said: “This clear change in mood in Washington concludes that a new trade agreement between the UK and the US is not a foregone conclusion as many within the Tory party believed.
“It also shows that the UK government’s approach to post-Brexit growth is utterly flawed and will cause excessive damage to our rural sector and the wider economy.
“The Tory argument that Brexit means more trade is a complete fallacy, with the UK’s trade with the rest of the world collapsing by almost £30 billion in the last 3 years.
“Instead of focusing on the national interest like any normal trading nation, the Tories are approaching negotiations with the attitude that any deal is a good deal to prove a hollow Brexit point.”
In response, a Department for International Trade source said Liz Truss was “regularly engaging” with US counterpart Katharine Tai.
