The United Kingdom and United States are expected to announce plans to launch formal trade talks on Wednesday. Negotiations are set to take place in an attempt to resolve a long-running dispute between London and Washington over tariffs on steel and aluminum.<\/p>\n
However, neither the UK or US are expected to set out a timeline for the talks or a deadline to secure an agreement.<\/p>\n
Reuters reports the International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan, 52, and US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, 50, will announce the plans as a part of a virtual meeting concerning the tariffs placed on metals.<\/p>\n
The report comes just a week after US Trade Representative Katherine Tai, 47, suggested they would look to ease tariffs on British steel and aluminum \"when the time is right\".<\/p>\n
Japan is also keen to strike a new deal with the United States.<\/p>\n
Both London and Tokyo hope to mirror the \"duty-free access\" deal signed by Brussels and Washington in October, which enabled additional costs to be lifted on around 4million tons of steel \"melted and poured\" into the EU annually.<\/p>\n
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The UK opted to keep the EU's pre-deal retaliatory tariffs on US products, including on whiskey and tobacco, when it severed ties with the EU's single market and customs union in January 2021.<\/p>\n
However, the news comes as the Institute of Export and International Trade has claimed Brexit Britain has now overtaken both Germany and China as the top growth market for US business.<\/p>\n
Around 37 percent of US CEOs surveyed named the UK as one of the three countries or territories most important to their companies' revenue growth prospects.<\/p>\n
The figure was just 21 percent last year.<\/p>\n
The number of American business chiefs who named China stood at 26 percent and Germany was slightly further behind on 24 percent.<\/p>\n
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Kevin Ellis, chairman and senior partner of PwC UK, said: \"Its not hard to see why US businesses have their sights on the UK.<\/p>\n
\"Aside from longstanding draws such as our trusted legal and business environment, certain factors make us ripe for investment now.<\/p>\n
\"Successful vaccine rollout and significant government funding have given us a head start on recovery.<\/p>\n
\"Meanwhile, our listed assets represent good value, at a time when many investors have full war chests to spend.\"<\/p>\n
The US estimates goods and services trade with the United Kingdom stood at a whopping $273billion in 2019.<\/p>\n
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However, President Joe Biden, 79, is said to be less enthusiastic about striking a post-Brexit trade deal and has put pressure on the UK Government over its negotiations with the EU over the implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol.<\/p>\n
The leave-voting Trade Minister Penny Mordaunt, 48, who has been tipped as a dark horse in the race to succeed 57-year-old Boris Johnson as Prime Minister, even suggested back in November that much of her time will be spent \"working in the US at state level\".<\/p>\n
She added: \"We know the US has more to do to be ready for an FTA, but when they are, we will be waiting for them.\"<\/p>\n
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Brexit: UK and US to hold formal talks in bid to break deadlock over steel and aluminium - Daily Express<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The United Kingdom and United States are expected to announce plans to launch formal trade talks on Wednesday. Negotiations are set to take place in an attempt to resolve a long-running dispute between London and Washington over tariffs on steel and aluminum Continue reading