Exclusive: Johnson’s US trade talks team ‘set’ – and priorities are being signed off by Cabinet
The UK is poised to kick off US trade talks ahead of discussions with the EU, with the negotiating team in place and priorities all but signed off, Morning Wire understands.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to fly to Washington in early February to “leverage the goodwill he has at the front end of negotiations”.
Johnson’s team charged with securing a US trade deal is “pretty much set”, according to two sources close to the situation. The government was given a boost by US President Donald Trump yesterday expressing his hopes for a “tremendous” trade deal.
Chief negotiation adviser Crawford Falconer is expected to oversee talks on both sides of the Atlantic, ensuring “read through” with the EU trade team, which will be led by David Frost.
Shanker Singham, a former adviser to the Department for International Trade, is also understood to be working closely with the government.
The UK’s negotiating mandate for US trade talks is being scrutinised by cabinet ministers, and is expected to prioritise financial services, defence and government procurement, Morning Wire can reveal.
Washington set out its position more than a year ago, with agricultural products high on the agenda. It prompted concerns that food standard issues could become a sticking point, with one insider saying the US would not accept “disguised methods of protectionism”.
They said: “The US is not going to be thrilled with the UK saying ‘let’s keep the EU’s SPS [sanitary and phytosanitary] rules — that will have to change if the government wants to do a deal with the US, although that doesn’t necessarily mean lowering of standards.”
The source added: “You don’t get off first base with the States if you say we are going to keep European regulation.”
The UK is believed to be seeking liberalisation for financial and other professional services.
The hope is that a “bare bones” interim deal can be struck by the summer, supplemented by mini deals, which is understood to be an approach favoured by Trump.
Parallel talks are expected to take place with the EU, with a “constructive proposal” expected to land before a formal negotiating mandate.
Talks with Brussels are scheduled to start in early March. But an ongoing row over the Tory commitment to a ‘tech tax’ on mainly US-based firms reared its head again yesterday. The US Treasury secretary told a Davos audience the UK would be hit with tariffs if they proceeded with the plan.
Johnson’s spokesman said: “Britain wants a global solution on taxing digital firms.” During the election campaign, a senior Tory source told Morning Wire that a tech tax would be a “red line” for the UK in negotiations.