How Will The US Election Affect The UK
If you’ve been following the news as of late, then you’ll know all about the US election. Our friends across the pond maybe over 4000 miles away but the result could affect us more than we know.
People might be quick to dismiss this momentous political event, however with Brexit looming over our heads and with no deals in place as of yet, perhaps the UK needs to pay a little closer attention to our American neighbours.
As it stands, the US and UK are currently in the midst of negotiating a trade deal in the hope that it will make it easier and cheaper to buy and sell goods. It’s been reported that a UK-US trade deal would aim to lower taxes paid on imported goods. But what would this mean for us? To put it simply, this should hopefully keep prices down in the UK and make it easier to sell things to the US.
What Does The US Think About Brexit
If we rewind to 2016, during the referendum campaign, one of the major selling points of Brexit was that the UK and US would form a trade deal. It’s evidently clear that Donald Trump has many opinions on Brexit. In a tweet the now 45th president of the United States sent out to his 164.6K Followers, he stated the following “They soon will be calling me mr brexit.” Now interpret that as you wish. He’s already made it blatantly clear that he favoured a no deal Brexit, should the UK government be left unsatisfied by the terms laid out by the EU.
Fast forward one year to and we’re now in 2017. Mr Trump outlined that he would ensure a quick trade deal between the two countries. However three years later and we’re no closer to said deal. Whereas, if we compare this view to his predecessors views, we know that Obama had a contrasting view. He famously said that the UK would be at the “back of the queue” for any trade deal with the US if voters in the UK decided to leave the EU and we all know how that played out.
What Would A US-UK FTA Agreement Mean For the UK?
Based on this information it’s clear to see that not every world leader holds the same views when it comes to negotiating trade deals. With this in mind, should Joe Biden take over the reigns and become the next president of the United States, this could be subject to change even further. The presidential term doesn’t start until next year, meaning a deal isn’t likely to be agreed until after this has passed.
We already know that Biden has specifically outlined that the UK must honour the Good Friday Agreement or there will be no trade deal with the US. That being said, there is no telling what will happen, other than another long wait.
What we do know is this. The UK has claimed that a Free Trade Agreement with the US will represent significant opportunities throughout the economy from agriculture, to professional services. We could see benefits such as higher wages, better jobs and more choice and lowers prices for regions in the UK.
It’s been predicted that a UK US Free Trade Agreement could increase trade between both countries by £15.3 billion and increase UK workers wages by £1.8 billion. There could be a particular benefit for Small and Medium sized businesses across the UK. Similarly, professional services, food processing and car manufacturing are said to be the sectors that could also reap huge benefits.
How Can Ampios Help You Prepare For A New Trade Deal?
A change in the White House could mean a complete re-evaluation of the discussions that have already taken place. Like many, we’ll be keeping a close eye on the presidential election to see what the result may bring.
If this all seems very overwhelming, don’t worry you’re not alone. Here at Ampios, we offer a Brexit-Planning Review and Brexit-Planning Service. Talk to us and explain what you’d like to achieve. We can then conduct a review and hold an informed conversation and agree what needs to be done. If you need help preparing for Brexit, you can find out more here.
