- A draft of the pact and its 11 proposed chapters said negotiations would begin by the end of 2023
President Joe Biden has quietly shelved plans for a trade deal with Britain before the 2024 election after disagreements in the Senate over what impact it will have on America.
A draft of the pact and its 11 proposed chapters prepared by the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) earlier this year indicated that negotiations would begin by the end of 2023.
But after the agreement encountered several headwinds, it is not expected to be implemented, two people briefed on the U.K. and U.S. governments respectively told POLITICO, both speaking on condition of anonymity.
“I don’t think anything like this will come up again,” said someone briefed on the planned negotiations.
The proposal's negotiation timetable calls for negotiations to be completed before next year's US and UK elections.
US President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at a joint press conference at the White House in Washington DC on June 8, 2023
Joe Biden and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Rishi Sunak arrive at a joint press conference in the East Room of the White House on June 8, 2023 in Washington, DC.
The agreement was more similar in substance to the US-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF), which focuses on regulation and non-tariff barriers, than a full trade agreement.
But in November, the IPEF talks collapsed after senior Democrats spoke out against the Biden administration's negotiations on trade provisions that did not include enforceable labor standards.
The British government has long sought a trade deal with the US as a solid post-Brexit reward, the newspaper reports.
The draft was seen as a signpost for the conclusion of a comprehensive agreement.
As Bloomberg reported, Britain's Business and Trade Minister Kemi Badenoch unveiled the deal in April during Biden's trip to Belfast to revive discussions that first began under the Trump administration.