Negotiations of the United States and Great Britain regarding a free trade agreement have been postponed indefinitely due to the situation with the coronavirus COVID-19, the newspaper Daily Telegraph reports citing its own sources.
Officially, the US-British talks were supposed to begin on March 23, the newspaper notes. It was assumed that they will start at a meeting in Washington with the participation of the Minister for International Trade of Great Britain Liz Trass and senior British officials. However, due to the situation with the coronavirus, “plans under which about 100 politicians and negotiators were supposed to discuss the terms of the agreement were canceled”, the newspaper writes. A new date for restarting the process, “despite the political will on both sides”, has not yet been set.
It was previously reported that the parties intend to conclude a trade transaction before the end of this year. Truss said the British government plans to strike a trade agreement with the United States with “mutually beneficial reduced tariffs”, providing access for British and American companies to each other’s markets. Also, she said, the United Kingdom does not intend to make concessions regarding the quality of the standards in livestock and food. The United States is Britain’s second largest trading partner after the EU.
The United Kingdom left the European Union on February 1, completing a three and a half year process. After Brexit, a transitional period begins, during which London will have to agree with the EU and other countries on formats for cooperation in all areas.