"Negotiating trade deals is a new competence for government. The Department for International Trade will be relying on relatively inexperienced staff."
'United States–United Kingdom negotiations, Summary of Specific Negotiating Objectives' (ustr.gov/sites/default/…)
It includes the following:
- Industrial Goods
"Secure comprehensive duty-free market access for U.S.
(Non-tariff barriers are of vital importance:
Regulations: Any rules which dictate how a product can be manufactured, handled, or advertised.
Rules of origin: Rules which
Quotas: Rules that limit the amount of a certain product that can be sold in a market.)
- Agricultural Goods
"Eliminate practices that unfairly decrease U.S. market access opportunities or distort agricultural markets to
- Human, Animal and Plant Health
"Expeditiously remove unwarranted barriers
".... each Party can set for itself the level of protection it believes to be appropriate to protect food safety and plant and animal health in a manner consistent with its international obligations."
U.S. food and agricultural products in order to obtain more open, equitable, and reciprocal
market access"
"Include strong provisions on transparency and public consultation that require the UK to
"Ensure that the rules of origin incentivise production in the territory of the parties, specifically in the United States."
Transparency, Publication, and Administrative Measures.
"Provide meaningful opportunities for public comment on measures before they are
"Establish and maintain mechanisms for review and, if warranted, correction of final administrative actions."
- Trade in Services
"Rules that apply to all services sectors, including rules that prohibit - Requirements that cross-border services suppliers
- Investment
"Secure for U.S. investors in the UK important rights consistent with U.S. legal principles and practice, while ensuring that UK investors in the United States are not accorded greater substantive rights than domestic investors."
"Establish fair, transparent, predictable, and non-discriminatory rules to govern government procurement in the UK, including rules mirroring existing U.S. government procurement practices...."
"Provide a mechanism to ensure transparency & take appropriate action if the UK negotiates an FTA with a non-market country."
(The USA/EU are pressing for China to be classified as a “non-market economy”, effectively ruling out a UK/China FTA)
"Seek the elimination of politically motivated nontariff barriers on Israeli goods, services, or other commerce imposed on Israel"
Good luck to our "relatively inexperienced staff", with that lot!