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A Well Earned(?) Break From Brexit
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If you read
last month's Policy & Trade Update
you might remember that I compared the Brexit process of recent months to the classic 1993 movie
Groundhog Day.
Well despite my apparent certainty that Britain
would
leave on 12 April, the Brexit deadline has been extended
yet again
to 31 October. So if you missed the excitement the first time around, there will be re-runs long into the year for you to enjoy.
All in all, not much has changed. After the extension announcement, Theresa May tweeted:
"
The choices we now face are stark and the timetable is clear.
"
I for one am glad that just 762 days after article 50 was triggered, we have finally got the timetable nailed down, that's the hard part out of the way. Needless to say, after hearing news that Brexit wouldn't be happening until October, MPs breathed a sigh of relief and shot straight back into action... packing their bags for a
12-day Easter Holiday
.
One bit of 'good' news that came out of April is that the PM and the Leader of the Opposition, Jeremy Corbyn, have been sitting down to try and reach a compromise on what sort of a deal with the EU they would both be willing to support,
something BAB has long-called for
. How did the meetings go? Well, initially the talks seemed to be heading in a positive trajectory, described as "constructive," and "useful but inconclusive," with a No.10 Spokesperson even saying that both sides were "
showing flexibility.
" Of course, just 3 weeks later, the talks have "
collapsed
" with
each side blaming the other for the lack of progress.
Again, 'not much has changed.'
April also saw the official announcement of President Donald Trump's second official visit to the UK since taking office. Not a lot is known about the President's visit other than there will be a traditional state banquet at Buckingham Palace, and he will participate in the D-Day75 commemorations in Portsmouth, but Theresa May has called the visit a
chance for the US and UK "to strengthen our already close relationship" and we at BAB of course welcome this opportunity.
So it seems, at least thus far, that Donald Tusk's plea of "
Please don't waste this time
" has fallen of deaf ears, and Britain remains stalwart in its desire to reject foreign bureaucrats telling it what to do. This is despite of course every major party (bar the Tories at the time of writing this) fielding candidates in the upcoming European Elections. My advice is if you're looking for a summer job, apply to Tesco.
I'll sign off with some words from our CEO Duncan Edwards, written at the start of the year which I think summarises the situation well:
"
Welcome back, nothing's changed!
"
Introduction by:
Dominic Parker, Communications Manager, BritishAmerican Business London
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April has been a busy month for BAB. We launched an exciting new publication,
Time To Listen
, which took the conversation surrounding the 'special relationship' out of the groaning halls of Westminster, and put it in the hands of university students across the UK to get their perspective on what transatlantic relations mean to them. We also had the pleasure of welcoming representatives from the United States International Trade Commission, and accompanying them on a UK-wide tour to discuss how we can strengthen the UK-US trade & investment relationship, with insight from US companies operating around Great Britain & Northern Ireland.
This was all in addition to more of our great policy & trade work, which saw us hold a series of roundtable discussions with everyone from Congressmen to SMEs on everything from US-expat tax reform to the future of global financial services regulation, welcomed delegations from Arizona and Pennsylvania alongside members American Airlines & British Airways, and even welcomed a new Chair to our International Advisory Board. Check out the details below.
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Events, Media & Initiatives
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BAB Launches Latest Publication 'Time To Listen' In London
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On 10 April, BAB launched its latest publication, and the first of 2019 - Time To Listen: Perspectives from Future Transatlantic Leaders at a networking launch event held at the Jumeirah Carlton Tower Hotel in London.
The publication, produced in partnership with the US Embassy London, presents the findings from our recent initiative, The Future Transatlantic Leaders Programme, which saw us take the conversation about the 'special relationship' to Britain's young people at Universities across the UK, to find out what it means for the next generation of transatlantic leaders, and how we can strengthen it.
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At the launch of the publication, we were joined by over 150 students and representatives from leading transatlantic organisations from BAB's membership and wider network.
Alongside some fantastic speeches from
Nicola Di Luzio, Head of US Network & Brexit Team, Foreign Commonwealth Office, and Sarah Van Horne, Assistant Cultural Affairs Officer - Head of Youth Outreach, U.S. Embassy London, attendees were also treated to a panel discussion with three of our Future Transatlantic Leaders led by BAB London Policy & Public Affairs Manager Theo Bachrach.
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We also had the pleasure of hosting a select few students from the programme at our offices in London where we were able to sit down with our friends Alasdair Gordon and Rosie Smith from members
Merck
to give career advice and discuss the issues of the day on Merck's agenda.
We also had the privilege of being invited to the Deputy Chief of Mission, Yael Lempert's residence in London, where our Future Transatlantic Leaders sat down with her to discuss
You can read the publication online in full
here
- or, if you would like some physical copies sent to you, please contact Dominic Parker |
dparker@babinc.org
Photos from the launch event can be found
here
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BAB London Joins the United States International Trade Commission on its UK Listening Tour
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BritishAmerican Business London was invited to join the United States International Trade Commission (USITC) on a series of meetings across the UK in London, Birmingham, Belfast and Edinburgh to speak with US companies operating there.
The primary purpose of the meetings was to learn from these companies what were the greatest barriers to trade they faced in the UK as transatlantic organisations.
The meetings have provided some excellent feedback, and we've had the pleasure of meeting some extremely interesting transatlantic businesses as a result.
We would like to thank the USITC and the US Embassy London for inviting us to be a part of this initiative, and to all our hosts including the US Embassy London, Mills & Reeve, the US Consulate Belfast and the US Consulate Edinburgh.
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BAB Holds Roundtable on the Future of Financial Services Regulation
On 17 April, BAB London welcomed members and stakeholders from our network to the offices of Barclays for a roundtable breakfast discussion on Transatlantic Financial Services Regulatory Cooperation.
Boasting the two largest hubs for financial services, the future of global regulatory standards for financial services is a critical issue, but also an opportunity for the UK and US, and the discussion provided some excellent insight.
We'd like to thank all of our attendees for contributing to this discussion and to Barclays for graciously hosting us.
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BAB Welcomes Delegation from Arizona with American Airlines and British Airways
On 1 April, BAB London attended two receptions to welcome a delegation from Phoenix, Arizona and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with members American Airlines and British Airways.
The receptions celebrated the opening of a new direct service between Arizona and London Heathrow, bringing the UK and USA closer together than ever before.
Many thanks to Rhett Workman, Managing Director, American Airlines, and our friends at British Airways for having us!
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BAB Co-Hosts Roundtable Discussion with Congressman George Holding, North Carolina
On 24 April, BAB London co-hosted a roundtable discussion with
United States Representative for North Carolina's 2nd congressional district, Congressman George Holding.
Representative Holding is Co-Chair of the British-American Parliamentary Group and a US House Ways and Means Committee Member.
He is also the author and sponsor of the new residence-based taxation bill for American expatriates, the
Tax Fairness for Americans Abroad Act.
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UK Government Publishes Guidance on Exporting to the US in the Event of a 'No-Deal' Brexit
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The UK's Department for International Trade has published guidance for businesses that export to the United States on what changes they can expect in the event that the UK leaves the European Union without a trade deal. It offers guidance on such areas as what tariff quotas to expect, product testing and inspection, travel advice and controlled goods.
You can read the guide in full
here
For a full list of the country guides published for a no-deal scenario, please click
here
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UK Named as Top Destination for FDI in Europe, Third Globally
The United Kingdom has taken top spot in Europe for Foreign Direct Investment in 2018, and placed third globally behind the USA and China
, according to figures released the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
The UK held more inward investment stock at the end of 2018 than Germany ($920bn), Spain ($659bn) and Poland ($229bn) combined.
The total value of foreign investment stock in the UK increased five per cent to $1.9 trillion (£1.5 trillion) by the end of 2018
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Dan Glaser Appointed New Chair of BAB's International Advisory Board
On 8 April, Dan Glaser, President and CEO, Marsh & McLennan Companies was officially announced as the new Chair of BAB's International Advisory Board.
He succeeds Sir Martin Sorrell, who chaired the Advisory Board for 18 years and will remain a member of the IAB
You can find more information on this announcement
here
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Job Opportunity in BAB London Office
BAB is hiring! We're looking for a (Senior) Manager, Policy & Government Affairs to join our team.
Based in the London office, the (Senior) Manager, Policy & Government Affairs will be primarily leading on BAB’s policy content production, as well as overseeing key components of BAB’s rapidly growing policy portfolio.
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The United States Surpasses GDP Growth Predictions in Q1 2019
According to an advance estimate by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA),
Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased 3.2 percent in the first quarter of 2019, up from Q4 2018 where real GDP increased 2.2 percent.
The news contradicts predicitons of a slow period of growth for the new year, amidst a prolonged US Government shutdown and global trade tensions.
However, some were quick to point out that despite the positive news, the details contained within the GDP report confirm other indicators that suggest the US economy continued to lose momentum at the start of 2019.
"Consumer spending grew at annualised rate of just 1.2 percent, down from 2.5 percent the previous quarter, and a recent high of 3.8 percent in the second quarter of 2018.
Business investment in structures, equipment and intellectual property grew at a rate of just 2.7 percent, down from 5.4 percent the previous quarter, and a recent high of 11.5 percent in the first quarter of 2018."
You can read the BEA's GDP report in full
here
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The Transatlantic Growth Awards Return for Their Second Year
8 May 2019, London
On 8 May, BAB London will hold its second annual Transatlantic Growth Awards celebration at St Ermin's Hotel, Westminster.
2019 marks a critical juncture in the trajectory of UK global trade, as it seeks to redefine its position on the world stage outside the European Single Market. One source of prosperity and stability we can look to is the Transatlantic Trade and Investment relationship, the strongest and most valuable bi-lateral economic relationship on Earth.
BAB’s Transatlantic Growth (TAG) Awards seek to celebrate the special relationship in style and recognise and reward the companies from SMEs to MNCs that invest in the transatlantic economy, creating growth, prosperity and jobs on both sides of the pond.
Among the winners are BP, whose long term investments in the US include the recent purchase of BHP Billiton’s US shale oil and gas assets for £10.5bn. Other industry giants celebrated at these awards include IBM, the longest serving IT company in the UK, investing £170m in 4 new cloud data centres to provide innovative solutions to the UK market.
Supported by HSBC, Delta Air Lines and Virgin Atlantic, the TAG Awards take place on 8th May 2019 at St Ermin’s Hotel, Westminster, and will be attended by senior UK and US Government representatives, BAB members and senior representatives of the winning organisations.
You can register for free
here
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The Transatlantic Finance Forum
11 June 2019, New York
BAB New York are pleased to announce the launch of a new initiative taking place this June.
The Transatlantic Finance Forum is a one-day, invitation-only summit focusing on the opportunities and challenges for the Financial Services industry.
This event will include senior representation from government, regulators and operators from banking, insurance, asset management and more. Discussion will center around economic policy, technology, the changing nature of customers, regulatory coherence and London & New York after Brexit.
This one-day gathering will also provide an opportunity for senior people from all aspects of the industry to meet and talk both inside and outside the conference hall.
Tuesday, 11 June 2019
8:00 AM to 5:00 PM
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Thank you for reading this month's Policy & Trade Update. If you have any feedback or comments, please
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