MNI POLICY: US, UK Want Trade Agreement Before November

By Ryan Hauser

     WASHINGTON (MNI) - The U.S. and UK are aiming to secure a free-trade

agreement before the U.S. elections in November and must resolve their

disagreements over digital taxes, a senior UK trade official said Thursday. 

"We want to do this very, very fast," said Antony Phillipson, Her Majesty's

Trade Commissioner for North America, at a digital panel for Washington

International Trade Association. Phillipson said that "if possible, we want to

get an agreement signed before the election," which he called "a shared ambition

between the two governments."

Phillipson said the U.S. and UK were looking to secure the FTA in a "very

different" and "much quicker" way than normal, adding that negotiators were

working aggressively between rounds of virtual negotiations.

He said the British government had hoped to resolve the issue of digital

taxation--a major threat to US companies like Amazon and Google--within the

OECD, but was disappointed by the lack of progress being made there. 

The U.S. and UK are "absolutely on the same page" on the issue of the Irish

border, he added, but said he's mindful that key members of Congress are

watching the issue to inform how they vote.

--MNI Washington Bureau; +1 202 371 2121; email: ryan.hauser@marketnews.com

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