Brexit: Truss says UK 'determined' to have good EU trade terms
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And one economist has said the total value of such an agreement could approach a whopping £250billion. Ms Truss has already sewn up deals with Japan, Canada and a host of other countries worth in excess of £200billion.
However, an agreement with the country which is already Britain’s biggest single partner would be the icing on the cake.
Speaking during a webinar organised by the Conservative Home website this week, Mrs Truss, the International Trade Secretary, said: “My view of the US deal is there’s a good deal to be done.
“We’ve made huge amounts of progress and we’ve agreed the majority of text and the majority of chapters.
“Now, I need to speak to the United States Trade Representative, Katharine Tai, about what the appropriate timeline is for us to negotiate that deal a lot.
“And of course, that is something that needs to be agreed with both parties.
“But I think it would be a fantastic sign, as we seek to roll back protectionism and as we seek to grow the economy after COVID for our two nations to continue with those trade negotiations and reach a conclusion.”
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Julian Jessop, an economics fellow at the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) think tank, told Express.co.uk a deal could push the total value of the goods trade with the US up by as much as ten percent – and past £250billion.
He explained: “The US is already our biggest single trading partner, unless you lump all the EU countries together.
“In 2019, UK trade with the US – again, exports plus imports – was worth about £230 billion.
“It might be harder to get a 10 percent net gain here, given the already high starting point, but even five percent would be worth about £12 billion a year.”
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A report published by the House of Commons Library in November makes the importance of trade links with the US crystal clear.
While the EU as a bloc remains the UK’s largest trading partner, its importance is dwindling year by year.
In 2019, it accounted for 43 percent of UK exports of goods and services and 52 percent of the UK’s imports.
In 1999, the EU’s accounted for 55 percent of the UK’s total trade.
The report adds: “Looking at individual countries, the US is the UK’s largest trading partner.
“The UK exported £141 billion of goods and services to the US in 2019, 21% of all exports.
“This was more than double the value of exports to Germany, the UK’s second largest export market (£56 billion).”
Ms Truss has won plaudits for her proactive approach in recent weeks, not least after her trip to India to sign an Enhanced Trade Partnership which paves the way for a wide-ranging trade deal experts estimate could be valued at up to £100billion.
At the time Nayan Gala, Founding Partner at venture capitalist firm JPIN VCATS, told Express.co.uk: “It’s great to see that the UK and Indian governments have agreed to an enhanced trade partnership.
“India is a 21st-century powerhouse the UK-India trading relationship is already worth almost £24 billion, with 383 Indian companies in the UK employing more than 82,000 people.
“The ETP will help to fuel economic recovery in a post-Brexit, post-COVID UK and really allow the UK to benefit from the immense growth India is about to experience in the coming decade.
“A free trade deal with India could be as high as £50-100 billion and will open the door to 1.3 billion potential customers for UK businesses, and provide opportunities for business improvement, consolidation, foreign expansion and diversification in a rapidly growing market.”
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