British-American Business Council - July Policy Review
July was one of the busiest months of the year so far for the BABC, with the President of the United States visiting the UK for the first time since taking office. Alongside this, a reshuffle in Theresa May's cabinet, and updated
Brexit plan
agreed at Chequers left no shortage of work for the BABC.
July also saw the 4th meeting of the US-UK Trade and Investment Working Group, a meeting between US and UK officials to discuss how to strengthen trade and investment ties between the UK and US. Piggybacking this meeting was the 2nd US-UK SME Dialogue held in London by the Department for International Trade. The BABC Secretariat, BritishAmerican Business London was delighted to be invited to support the event.
The UK Government has now launched an
official consultation
on the potential for an FTA. See below for BAB's plan of action for this consultation and how you can be involved.
In London, the BABC Secretariat co-hosted a talk by NASA Chief Technologist, Dr Douglas Terrier, and also met with delegations from the states of Indiana and North Carolina, as well as meeting with Dan Mullaney, the Assistant United States Trade Representative.
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UK Government Announces Public Consultation on Potential UK-US FTA and Meets with BABC Chapters
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BABC welcomes the Government's efforts to strengthen economic ties with the US, the UK's most important single-country trading partner. What is equally as encouraging is the Secretary of State's remarks that the Government is working to maximise the UK's trade with the rest of the world without impeding its current trade relationship with Europe, a critically important issue for businesses in both the UK and the US.
In response to the announcement, Duncan Edwards, CEO, British-American Business Council released the following statement, available to read online
here
.
BritishAmerican Business will be spearheading the response of the BABC. We are planning to submit a reply to the consultations questionnaire for business on behalf of our members and convene meetings with the Government to lead the business input to the consultation in certain areas. If you want to be involved in BAB's consultation work, please email us on [email protected].
As part of the consultation process, the Secretary of State addressed representatives from the British-American Business Council's
San Francisco chapter
, meeting with companies such as Facebook, Oracle and Lucasfilm.
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President Trump Visits the UK
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On 12–13 July 2018, President Donald J. Trump visited the UK for the first time since taking office, following the NATO Summit in Brussels. The visit also followed the 4
th
meeting of the US-UK Trade and Investment Working Group (TIWG) in London.
As the single largest investor in each other’s economy, the US and the UK share an unrivalled special relationship that stands as a source of strength and stability for both nations, founded on a long history of shared values, and which provides innumerable economic opportunities for its respective citizens. The President's visit to the UK created momentum around the possibility of a future trade deal with the US and reaffirmed the strength of this special relationship.
The British-American business community stands ready to support efforts to open a new chapter in the transatlantic trade and investment relationship.
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4th Meeting of the US-UK Trade and Investment Working Group
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BritishAmerican Business (BAB) London is proud to have supported the fourth session of the UK-US Trade and Investment Working Group and the second meeting of the UK-US SME dialogue.
The Trade and Investment Working Group aims to strengthen trade and investment ties between the UK and US and provide commercial continuity for both US and UK businesses, workers, and consumers as the UK prepares to leave the EU. The group is also looking towards the possibility of a potential, future free trade agreement once the UK has left the EU.
The group is convened by the Department for International Trade and the Office of the US Trade Representative, led by UK Secretary of State for International Trade Dr. Liam Fox and US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.
We applaud both Governments' commitment to providing resources to assist SMEs with greater access to finance and business support that will spur growth, jobs and make it easier for business owners to turn their ambition into reality.
BAB fully supports the Working Group objective of bringing our nations closer together, by focusing on strengthening trade and investment ties.
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Events, Media & Initiatives
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BABC Secretariat Partners with the Department for International Trade for 2nd SME Dialogue
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On 9 July, BritishAmerican Business, the BABC Secretariat, was proud to support the 2nd UK-US SME Dialogue, kindly hosted by RSM UK.
The event was led by the Department for International Trade and the UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with the Office of the US Trade Representative, the US Department of Commerce and the US Small Business Administration.
The dialogue brought together SMEs and stakeholders, on both sides of the Atlantic, with Government officials to identify ways to deepen UK-US trade and investment ties and strengthen cooperation on issues of mutual interest to SMEs.
Topics discussed included opportunities and challenges for SMEs in accessing both UK and US markets, regulatory practices for SMEs, intellectual property, and looking towards domestic and international growth of SMEs, through access to finance and other business support.
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BritishAmerican Business Co-Hosts Breakfast Briefing with NASA Chief Technologist, Dr. Douglas Terrier
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BAB and Herbert Smith Freehills welcomed Dr Douglas Terrier, NASA's Chief Technologist (Acting) to deliver a keynote presentation to attendees from across BAB's membership and UK Government representatives.
In his presentation, Dr Terrier discussed the technologies currently in development by NASA to learn more about our universe and the importance of public-private partnerships in the advancement of these technologies. In addition to this, Dr Terrier spoke on the rapid development of Artificial Intelligence, and how NASA is employing these technologies in robotic probes sent to other planets such as Mars.
Finally, Dr Terrier highlighted the exploration of space and further understanding of the universe as a common cause around which countries across the world can unite and collaborate.
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BritishAmerican Business Meets with Congressman Holding, United States Representative for North Carolina
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BAB welcomed Congressman George Holding, representative of North Carolina's 2nd Congressional District to discuss his work on the House Ways and Means Committee and position as Co-Chair of the UK Caucus in Congress.
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BritishAmerican Business Meets with Secretary of Commerce for Indiana, Jim Scheillinger
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BAB met with Jim Schellinger, the Secretary of Commerce for the State of Indiana during his visit to London. The meeting provided the opportunity to discuss opportunities for British companies looking to bring their business stateside in Indiana. Indiana boasts a AAA credit rating, as well as the 2nd lowest costs of doing business in the US (2017).
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BAB Meets with Assistant United States Trade Representative, Dan Mullaney
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BAB welcomed Assistant United States Trade Representative, Dan Mullaney, and Oliver Griffiths, Director, Americas Negotiations, at the Department for International Trade, to discuss USTR’s negotiation and trade priorities for the UK and Europe and the work of the UK-US Trade and Investment Working Group.
The meeting covered updates in the Brexit process, the USTR’s engagement on UK-EU-US Trade and Investment and an update from both sides on the focus of the UK-US Trade and Investment Working Group.
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Media Appearances
BABC representatives including CEO Duncan Edwards and Executive Director of BAB London, Emanuel Adam, were invited by a number of global media outlets to be interviewed on the visit of President Trump to the UK, and the UK's proposed '
Chequers Agreement
.' You can view the interviews using the links below:
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CEO, Duncan Edwards speaks with China Global Television Network
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BABC Chief Executive Officer, Duncan Edwards, spoke with China Global Television Network America on Trump, Brexit and the future of US-UK trade.
If you would like to watch the full interview, please click
here.
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BAB London Executive Director, Emanuel Adam Interviewed on NPR Marketplace
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Emanuel Adam, BAB London's Executive Director, spoke on NPR Marketplace on behalf of BritishAmerican Business and the British-American Business Council on the US reaction to the UK's 'Chequers Agreement' whitepaper, which sets out the UK's revised approach to the Brexit negotiations.
If you would like to watch the full interview, please click
here.
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BAB London Executive Director, Emanuel Adam Interviewed on CNBC's Squawkbox
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Emanuel Adam spoke to CNBC's Squawkbox on Brexit, Trump and transatlantic trade suggesting that 'the US business community has been hopeful that the UK remains as closely aligned with the EU as possible'.
If you would like to watch the full interview, please click
here.
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BAB London Executive Director, Emanuel Adam Interviewed on BBC News
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BAB's Executive Director, Emanuel Adam appeared on BBC News' Business Briefing to discuss Brexit and the implications on a UK-US free trade arrangement.
If you would like to watch the full interview, please click
here.
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BritishAmerican Business London Welcomes US High School Students on Cultural Exchange - Arranged by ACS Schools and BABC
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BAB London was delighted to welcome a group of 20 high school students from across the United States for the annual ACS Schools trip to the UK. BAB hosted the group in its boardroom for a lively discussion on the work BAB does, the current state of play in the UK-US relationship, the current landscape in British politics, including the recent changes in Theresa May’s Cabinet, and of course Brexit.
Represented were five BABC chapters, New York/Connecticut, Washington, Charlotte, Houston and Orange Coiunty CA, plus two schools from Baltimore.
Read more about the visit
here
.
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Thank you for reading this month's Policy Update. If you have any feedback or comments,
BritishAmerican Business provides the official policy support to the British-American Business Council. With that, BAB Policy work supports and represents more than 20 chapters and their members in major business centres throughout the UK and North America.
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