UK-U.S. Free Trade Agreement: Fourth Round of Negotiations Completed

Last week marked the end to the fourth round of the UK-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations.

The round began September 8 and concluded on September 18. It included 29 sessions covering around 16 different chapter areas. From the UK government statement, significant progress has been achieved since launching negotiations in May 2020. In total, 132 sessions have been held over the past four negotiating rounds involving officials from 20 different UK Government departments and agencies. Most chapter areas are now in the advanced stages of talks and a notable milestone was achieved as both sides exchanged their first tariff offers, allowing a series of detailed market access discussions to be held during the round. The exchange of tariff offers and the speed at which this stage has been reached, demonstrates the momentum behind these negotiations.

Liz Truss said the UK and U.S. had made significant progress in reaching a trade deal after wrapping up a productive fourth round of talks. Both sides reiterated their commitment to continue negotiations at pace in advance of the U.S. Presidential elections. The fifth round of talks are expected to take place in mid to late October. Further talks will be held on areas such as Telecommunications, Intellectual Property, Market Access, and Rules of Origin. The work streams discussed in the fourth round included Customs and Trade Facilitation, Competition, Technical Barriers to Trade, Market Access, and Financial Services.

BABC-PNW welcomes the U.S. and UK Governments’ ongoing commitment to forge a new trans-Atlantic trade partnership. This is a challenging time in our shared history and BABC-PNW will be there to support initiatives and policies that enable our members to develop business opportunities in and between the UK and the U.S. Read the full statement on the negotiations.