Transatlantic Topics
New York and London
February 2020
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Three days in Washington DC last week and the sense of anticipation about meaningful negotiations on a trade agreement between the US and the UK were in the air at every meeting we held. The US Commerce Department and Trade Representative (USTR) have completed the new US Canada Mexico agreement (USMCA) and phase 1 of a China deal and now all efforts will be focused on getting something done with the UK. Both sides have been talking about this since the 2016 referendum result and the leaders in both countries have made it clear that this is high on their agenda for 2020.
But, even with the support of the principals and the political desire to reach an agreement on both sides, there will be hurdles that will need to be overcome. We haven’t yet seen the detailed negotiating objectives from the UK, but we already know that the challenges will fall in three broad buckets; sequencing, balancing wins and losses, and making the case to the public.
The UK will attempt to negotiate its future relationship with the EU and this new trade agreement with the US in parallel; of course, you can understand the political reasons for taking this approach (and the potential to create negotiating advantages), but if the desired outcome is more open trade with fewer impediments with both the EU and the US, then detailed and constant communication between both negotiating teams will be necessary. BAB members continue to argue that reaching an agreement with the EU, that ensures no new friction in trade where none exists now, should be the priority but the government must assess what price it is willing or able to pay to achieve this; you can see this argument being rehearsed daily between the UK and the EU and this fight will need to be settled before anyone can move on.
Our guess, when the UK does publish its detailed negotiating objectives for the US FTA, is that there will be a lot of common ground but both sides will have new things that they want to achieve. Usually in successful negotiations, wins and losses are balanced, some items get sacrificed as non-essential and some are held to be so critical that no movement is possible. We already know what the US government is seeking to achieve, especially around market access but whether the UK has a similarly defined set of requirements (achievable at a federal level) that will enable the teams to create a win-win is not clear.
And if the sequencing can be managed and a balanced deal struck, the task of selling this to the people will still be huge. Interestingly, given the mixed history of support for trade deals in the USA, there is unlikely to be a big negative challenge to overcome in the States. There is a depth of real support for the US UK relationship across the country and the UK is not seen as a threat to American jobs. Unless the Irish border becomes a real issue, an agreement should get the support of Congress. In the UK, our sense is that it will be a tougher sell. There will be opposition from multiple groups (anti-globalist, environmental, labour market protectionists, anti-Americans and EU federalists) and on the big public issues of food and healthcare. So, government and business will need to make a positive case for an agreement and carefully and clearly take on and disarm the arguments that are thrown against it…and we believe they can.
This will be a major part of the agenda for BritishAmerican Business this year; alongside our program of convening events around the big issues for business we will be working hard to support the FTA process and the efforts of both the US and UK governments to get a deal done. We will be available to provide input on the substance of any agreement, give feedback from our members on both sides of the Atlantic and make the case for a deal out in the real world where its benefits will be felt. It’s going to be a full and exciting year!
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Join us as we convene the world of Transatlantic Finance. Registration is now open! Discussion will center around the central themes of ESG investing, fintech and regulation taking into consideration the upcoming political transition period for the UK.
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On 31 January, the United Kingdom formally left the European Union. In response, BAB published a statement reiterating the importance of securing a future trade agreement with the EU that secures frictionless trade, maintains market access, and preserves the integrity of supply chains across the UK and EU.
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BritishAmerican Business CEO Duncan Edwards joined Yahoo Finance‘s ‘On The Move’ Panel today, to talk about the UK’s departure from the European Union.
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BAB has welcomed the news that the UK Government is considering eliminating the £30,000 income threshold for migrants from the European Union post-Brexit that were originally proposed in 2018.
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BAB has welcomed the news that the United States and France have agreed to suspend their dispute on the French Digital Services Tax (DST) until the end of the year.
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BritishAmerican Business’ latest insight piece comes from Akshat Dhankher, a co-op student from Northeastern University who assisted the BAB London Policy Team between Summer-Winter 2019.
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BAB submitted a response to the USTR following a request for comments regarding the WTO dispute between the United States and the European Union.
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British investors eyeing deals in the US have won an important reprieve from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. On January 13, the Committee announced expanded rules governing inbound investments but granted investments by UK parties an exemption from many of these new regulations.
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Oxfordshire based cyber security consultants CQR have published a new guide which covers the 9 key areas that can help protect organisations from the most common cyber threats.
Despite a government report finding that almost half of UK businesses were victims of a cyber security breach or attack in 2018* many organisations find it difficult to know where to start with the fast-evolving area of cyber security.
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Delta Air Lines was named Best Long-Haul Airline at the 25th annual Business Travel Awards, retaining one of the U.K.’s most prestigious travel awards for a second straight year.
The Business Travel Awards are judged by a panel of senior industry experts, who commended Delta for our “product upgrades and fuel efficiency programme, outstanding performance record and its focus on environmental issues and people.”
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Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath (Faegre Drinker) launched global operations, effective Feb. 1, 2020. Faegre Drinker is the combination of Faegre Baker Daniels, an international law firm with deep roots in the Midwest, and Drinker Biddle & Reath, a full-service national law firm with storied East Coast origins.
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The UK space sector is currently worth £14.8bn, a figure which is expected to rise to £40bn by 2030 and create 30,000 skilled jobs.
While mankind’s footprint has long since left behind its mark on the moon’s arid lunar landscape, Essex’s very-own Teledyne e2v is now at the forefront of 21st century space exploration, and is carrying the torch for Essex by illuminating the far corners of the solar system – half a century after the first moon landing.
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Denihan Hospitality Group
Denihan is a premier owner/operator of boutique/lifestyle hotels. Celebrating more than 50 years as a privately-held, full service hotel management and development company, we own and/or operate 5 boutique hotels in major urban markets throughout New York City.
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FTI Consulting
FTI Consulting, Inc. is an independent global business advisory firm dedicated to helping organizations manage change, mitigate risk and resolve disputes: financial, legal, operational, political & regulatory, reputational and transactional.
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Intelygenz
Intelygenz is a company of technicians who create software and AI that help take businesses to the next level. We aim to create agile technology that gives you the competitive edge. We’re developers, life-long learners, geeks and visionaries.
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Madano
Madano helps clients define strategy and deliver objectives through insight, creativity and communication, focusing primarily on complex, highly regulated sectors.
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New York City Football Club
New York City Football Club is a New York City-based Major League Soccer club. NYCFC is one of eight clubs under the City Football Group umbrella.
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The Berkeley Partnership LLP
Founded in 1990, The Berkeley Partnership is an independent management consultancy. Based in London and New York, we work with many household names and global organisations helping them to develop strategies and transform their business. In doing so, we are often at the heart of them achieving their most ambitious goals.
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VisitBritain
VisitBritain has a unique role in raising Britain’s profile worldwide, increasing the value of tourism exports and developing Britain’s visitor economy. Our mission is to grow the value of inbound tourism to Britain, working with a wide range of partners in both the UK and the US.
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Aston Martin Lagonda
Aston Martin Lagonda is the world’s only independent luxury car group with more than 100 years of design and automotive excellence across two brands. We strive to be the great British car company that creates the most beautiful and accomplished automotive art in the world.
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Capita
Capita is a consulting, digital services and software business. We are driven by our purpose: to create better outcomes – for our employees, clients and customers, suppliers and partners, investors, and society.
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Empire State Development, European Office
The mission of Empire State Development (ESD) is to promote a vigorous and growing state economy, encourage business investment and job creation, and support diverse, prosperous local economies across New York State through the efficient use of loans, grants, tax credits, real estate development, marketing and other forms of assistance.
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EU VAT International Ltd
Award winning technology to automate preparation of your European VAT Returns, saving users the cost and keep you compliant with post Brexit legislation. Unique technology to automate preparation of your European VAT Reclaims.
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Flying Formations
Flying Formations specialise in helping clients start and grow their business in the UK. We can also move your existing business from the US to the UK.
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Hard Rock Café International
Hard Rock Cafe offers a one-of-a-kind dining experience with a commitment to serving fresh, high-quality ingredients. To satisfy the consumer’s ever-changing palate, Hard Rock continually updates its menu with limited-time offerings including burger pairings, innovative cocktails and more. Hard Rock is a haven for fans of music, food and great times.
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MASECO Private Wealth
We develop and implement tax efficient investment and global wealth strategies for families, trusts and foundations based in the UK, America or abroad. Our aim is to deliver peace of mind through expert advice designed to simplify and tackle the complexities associated with complex cross-border wealth management.
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McGill and Partners
McGill and Partners is a new boutique specialist (re)insurance broker.
We believe that an open, aligned and progressive insurance market benefits everyone. Our role as brokers is to create specialist transactions to manage risk, while delivering economic flexibility and stability for our clients.
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RevLifter Ltd
RevLifter personalises deals for retailers across any marketing channel. The platform uses AI to understand real-time signals from users onsite behaviour to deliver the right deal to the right customer at the right time, to achieve the advertiser’s goals.
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New York Events You Can't Miss...
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February 25 | 6:00pm - 7:30pm
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February 26 | 6:00pm - 8:00pm
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March 4 | 8:00am - 10:00am
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London Events You Can't Miss...
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20 February | 6:00pm – 7:30pm
Millennium Gloucester Hotel | 4-18 Harrington Gardens SW7 4LH
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2 March | 8:00am – 10:00am
Location TBC
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30 March | 6:00pm – 9:00pm
etc. venues County Hall | Westminster London SE1 7PB
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New offers include savings from:
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If you would like to appear in our March newsletter, please contact
Amy Noonan
.
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