Negotiations on a post-Brexit trade agreement
09/12/2020
When the post-Brexit transition period comes to an end, the United Kingdom will remove tariffs placed on US products in an effort to settle a transatlantic dispute and clear the way for a trade agreement with the incoming White House.
The United Kingdom has been embroiled in a long-running trade spat over aerospace subsidies, as President Donald Trump has fought with the European Union and both sides have levied tit-for-tat tariffs on each other’s products.
Because of state backing provided to Airbus, Mr Trump’s government retaliated against the European Union by imposing duties on £5.6 billion worth of goods. Products such as Scotch whisky were particularly hard impacted by the penalties.
The EU replied by levying its own duties on $3 billion worth of US products in retaliation for Boeing’s subsidies. The United Kingdom, on the other hand, has indicated that it would suspend such restrictions as of January 1, when the’standstill’ transition period comes to an end and it will be free to pursue its own strategy to international commerce.
In the expectation that the new US President Joe Biden would agree to expedite negotiations on a post-Brexit trade agreement, the move will be seen as an effort by Downing Street to extend an olive branch to him.
The United Kingdom considers a trade agreement with the United States to be one of the most significant benefits of leaving the EU, and there had been expectations that one may be completed this year, in time for the November presidential election in the United States.
