As the clock ticks closer and closer to 31 October, Brexit is growing into a top issue of concern for politicians in Washington, D.C. The CBI’s Washington office has taken advantage of this peaked interest to make sure that your concerns are promoted up to the top levels of the U.S. federal government.
The CBI’s course of engagement with the U.S. government has been broad and extensive. It includes regular check-ins with Congressional staff on the Senate Finance Committee and House Ways and Means Committees (the two bodies that introduce trade agreements in Congress), meetings with the Department of State’s UK desk, the Department of Commerce’s Western Europe desk, and most importantly, private discussions and business roundtables (in Washington and London) with senior negotiators at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
Presenting the UK business view across the pond
Our top priority in these meetings is to put U.S. officials in the shoes of UK businesses, who are in desperate need of certainty and compromise from their political leaders in Westminster. While many Members of Congress and their policy staff are bullish about a hard Brexit and eventual U.S.-UK free trade agreement (FTA), there often is a lack of understanding of how the knock-on effects of no deal would play out in the UK economy. And while State and Commerce officials are aware of the potential negotiating roadblocks awaiting the U.S. and UK, there hasn’t been a major push to think of creative workarounds to harmonizing U.S.-UK trade outside of an FTA.
This makes our presence in Washington even more valuable. It allows us to present the UK business view of why reaching an agreement with the EU is the best answer to protect small business supply chains and maintain market access to continental Europe (the UK’s top trading partner) – all without sacrificing the opportunity to make trade easier with the United States.
Building on the strong foundations that bind the U.S. and UK together
There remain many options on the table for the U.S. and the UK to deepen trade and investment links without needing a formal trade agreement. The CBI Washington office is telling U.S. government staff and officials that these could include:
- Shifting the White House’s ‘Buy American-Hire American’ strategy (which aims to shut foreign business out of government procurement bids) towards a more unified “Buy-Hire Transatlantic” approach.
- Enabling greater flow of talent and fewer restrictions on intracompany transfers and temporary business visas, allowing more seamless flow of talent across the Atlantic.
- Relaxing U.S. restrictions on foreign ownership and possession in the aviation and maritime industries (such as the Jones Act of 1920).
- Ensuring that the U.S. Government’s screening process of foreign investment for national security purposes does not negatively disrupt British investment in high-tech, dual-use sectors stateside.
- Harmonizing import procedures and customs administration at American and British ports of entry, to simplify rules of origin forms and import / export certificates at the border.
How we’re shifting the dial
In our conversations with stakeholders in Washington, we’ve witnessed the narratives on Brexit slowly shift and develop over time.
Even the U.S. Trade Representative, the agency in charge of preparing for FTA negotiations with the UK has told the CBI that they are open to hearing more from us about low-hanging fruit outside of the framework of a trade agreement. As the clock ticks further toward 31 October, we look forward to building upon these relationships and continuing to spread the CBI’s expertise across our extensive U.S. network.
Get involved
The CBI Washington and International Trade teams are interested in hearing from members about their priorities for the future U.S.-UK trade and investment relationship. If you would like to put forward your views, please contact John Bleed.