International Trade Committee publish Government response to UK-US trade report

The Committee’s report warned the Government against rushing into trade negotiations with the US without first establishing a clear trade strategy and modelling the potential economic impact on the UK economy. It cautioned that the temptation to achieve a quick trade deal with the world’s largest economy would be high, but the complexities of the regulatory environment and US’s federal system would need careful navigation.

A copy of the Government’s response to the Committee’s report is attached.

Committee Chair, Angus MacNeil MP, commented:

“The Secretary of State told us that the US is the number one priority for a new trade deal after Brexit, but this response provides little reassurance that the Government actually understands the impact such a deal would have on the UK economy – particularly how different nations and sectors will be affected. This is particularly disappointing given that the prospect of a Free Trade Agreement with this US is bandied about by the Government as a post-Brexit win. It appears that the detailed analysis to back this up is virtually non-existent.

“Even if the Government don’t have the relevant information now, one would hope that would commit to sharing it in the future. In our report, we called on the Government to publish a range of information before starting negotiations with the US, but they don’t agree to any specifics. This is a matter my Committee will return to in our inquiry into transparency and scrutiny of trade policy, given the high level of public interest in trade agreements, which, given the impact they can have, is completely justified.”