(Bloomberg) — UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he didn’t discuss a prospective trade deal with the US when he met with President Joe Biden on Wednesday, suggesting Britain has given up for now on what was once touted as one of the great prizes of Brexit.
Most Read from Bloomberg
“We didn’t discuss the trade deal in particular, but we did discuss our economic partnership,” Sunak told reporters at the G-20 summit in Bali, Indonesia.
https://t.co/HjEhimRqdy pic.twitter.com/pk00x9qO81
— Bloomberg UK (@BloombergUK) November 16, 2022
Sunak’s failure to bring up the prospect of a trade deal suggests an acceptance for now by the British government that it’s not on the cards in the near future, despite the so-called “special relationship” that’s often touted by leaders of the two nations. The premier’s predecessor, Liz Truss, said in September that negotiations aren’t currently taking place and are unlikely start in the short to medium term.
Liz Truss Pessimistic on UK-US Trade Deal in the Near Future
It’s a sea-change from 2019 and 2020, when Donald Trump’s US administration said Britain was at the “front of the line” to secure a trade deal. Talks opened up during Trump’s presidency, but were put on the back-burner when Biden came to power. Instead, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai has suggested free-trade agreements are archaic, calling them a “very 20th-century tool” and saying new approaches are needed.
Nevertheless, the first face-to-face meeting between Biden and Sunak — in office for just over three weeks — was warm. They met in an open-air room at a luxury resort hotel, surrounded by a carp pond and tropical plants. Flanked by their delegations, the two men were shielded from the hot midday sun by a thatched roof. They shook hands and smiled at each other. Later an official said Biden had put his arm around Sunak.
Sunak described the relationship between the two countries as “unique and enduring.”
Their discussion also covered the importance of the 1998 Good Friday peace agreement in resolving the thorny issue of the Northern Ireland protocol, which sets out the post-Brexit trading arrangements for the region, according to Sunak’s spokesman, Max Blain. It’s an issue Biden — who has Irish roots — has repeatedly brought up in conversation with Sunak and his predecessors, Liz Truss and Boris Johnson.
(Updates with further context, details of meeting, starting in third paragraph)
Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek
©2022 Bloomberg L.P.
