Brexit: No deal will be 'EU's fault' claims Tony Abbott
We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info
And former Tory and UKIP MP Douglas Carswell believes the Prime Minister already has the team in place to strike a historic agreement with Joe Biden – citing as evidence the deal done with Australia earlier this year. Mr Carswell is in a good position to offer a perspective on events on the other side of the Atlantic, given his position as the CEO and President of the Mississippi Center for Public Policy.
And he saw no reason why the two sides would be unable to come to terms acceptable to both sides.
He told Express.co.uk: “When Britain and Australia sat down and created a new trade deal I think people were quite surprised at how quickly it can be done.
“And I think this is all because of what you might call the Tony Abbott lesson.
“Tony Abbott is the former Australian prime minister, and he has a key role advising the UK Government.
“Now one of the great bits of advice Tony has always given people is that when you want to do a trade deal, set your officials a hard deadline for negotiation.
“Because he learned that the negotiations will always expand to fill the time allotted to them.
“Bear in mind, as always, right now, even without a trade deal, America is our single largest trade partner and our single largest source of foreign investment.
“We’re massive trade partners with each other so we’re not starting from a completely blank canvas.”
Asked whether the UK would benefit from an American version of Mr Abbott, Mr Carswell did not rule it out.
“So if you don’t have a hard deadline, the trade negotiations will drag on and on and on.”
Mr Carswell added: “I think what happened when the UK and Australia negotiated a trade deal is that hard deadlines were set, and everyone was surprised at how quick the process was.
“I think that’s a model and a template that could be followed for UK and America.
DON’T MISS:
EU’s ‘cod war’ with Norway ramps up as Brussels threatens Oslo [INSIGHT]
EU laws will be imposed on UK even after Frost’s Brexit renegotiation [ANALYSIS]
MEPs’ bizarre freebies and perks unveiled in damning report [REVEALED]
He said: “I think the UK team is already pretty strong.
“I mean you’ve got Tony Abbott himself, you’ve got a great board of trade.
“I mean you could always add to it but you’ve got Crawford Faulkner, people like that, very very experienced trade negotiators.
“So I think that the UK team is a good one.
“The key in all of this is pushing it to the top of the Biden administration’s agenda, and I think Liz Truss seems to have done that.”
Mr Carswell, who became the first candidate to win a seat for UKIP when he was elected as MP for Clacton in a 2014 by-election, having defected from the Tories, was speaking after Ms Truss met with US counterpart Katherine Tai earlier this month in Washington.
The pair agreed that their recent truce in a long-running trade dispute over aid for plane manufacturers Airbus and Boeing had created a platform for “future collaboration on shared challenges, including those posed by the anti-competitive practices of China and other non-market economies”.
They also emphasised the importance of fair competition in the global economy, and agreed to work together to enhance the international trading system and address forced labour issues.
Ms Truss said the two discussed working together to tackle unfair trade practices, making progress on cooperation on large civil aircraft, and boosting the £196 billion pound trading relationship.
During her five-day visit to the United States, Truss will also travel to the West Coast to promote Britain as a destination for tech investment.
Britain and the United States started talks on a post-Brexit free trade deal when Donald Trump was president but failed to reach an accord before Joe Biden took office in January.
The Biden administration has put all new trade deals on hold while it reviews the trade policies of the Trump administration.
Source: Read Full Article