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Biden plays down chances of UK-US trade pact
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SME Times News Bureau | 22 Sep, 2021
US President Joe Biden has played down the chances of a post-Brexit free
trade deal between his government and the UK, as he held talks with
Boris Johnson at the White House.
Biden said he would discuss the
issue "a little bit" with the UK prime minister, adding: "We're going
to have to work that through."
Downing Street said a direct deal with the US remained his "priority".
However, UK ministers have been pondering joining an existing North American trade pact instead, the BBC reported.
Biden and Johnson also discussed Northern Ireland, climate change and Afghanistan during the 90-minute meeting.
The
UK is keen to strike free trade deals around the world in the wake of
leaving the European Union's single market, including with the US, with
which annual trade was worth an estimated $273 billio in 2019.
A
deal would encourage more business between the two countries by making
it cheaper, usually by reducing or eliminating taxes called tariffs.
Johnson,
echoing Biden, downplayed chances of securing agreement with the US
before the next general election, saying: "The Americans do negotiate
very hard."
Environment Secretary George Eustice told Sky News:
"We still very much hope to be able to put together an agreement with
the United States. We are not putting timescales on it."
"It's just not a priority for the US administration," he added.
Johnson
highlighted the decision to lift the ban on British beef, and Downing
Street is increasingly confident that there could soon be a favourable
decision lifting the export ban on lamb.
Speaking to reporters in
the Oval Office before the talks, Biden said: "We're going to talk a
little bit about trade today and we're going to have to work that
through."
He did not counter the assertion from his predecessor
Barack Obama that the UK would have to join "the back of the queue" in
seeking a trade deal after Brexit.
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Customs Exchange Rates |
Currency |
Import |
Export |
US Dollar
|
66.20
|
64.50 |
UK Pound
|
87.50
|
84.65 |
Euro
|
78.25
|
75.65 |
Japanese
Yen |
58.85 |
56.85 |
As on 13 Aug, 2022 |
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Daily Poll |
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