The long-awaited trade negotiations between the United States and the United Kingdom were formally launched this past Tuesday, May 5. The launch was a virtual meeting between the two teams of negotiators. The May 6 print edition of The Wall Street Journal carried an op-ed by two U.S. politicians who very much want these talks to succeed, namely, former Senator
Phil Gramm
of Texas and Senator
Pat Toomey
of Pennsylvania. Today’s quote was taken from that article. The reason we mentioned only Senator Gramm above should be clear from this longer excerpt:
When
Margaret Thatcher
mentioned the [U.S.-UK] special relationship in introducing one of us (Mr. Gramm) he responded by defining the special relationship this way:
“My people came to America from Prussia, my wife's people came from Korea, but in our heritage and in our hearts we are British because it was Britain that taught us to love law and liberty, and that love is the tie that binds.”
U.S. Trade Representative
Robert Lighthizer
opened the U.S.-UK trade talks on Tuesday. That was followed by a statement from the UK’s Secretary of State for International Trade,
Liz Truss.
Both ministers spoke to the importance of shared values. Indeed, there was a lot of common ground in their remarks, but there were differences too, although they were differences in emphasis rather than detail.
On Shared Values.
“Our is among the most important alliances in human history,” Ambassador Lighthizer said. He then quoted from
President Trump
’s remarks at a State dinner in London last June, in which the President said:
The bond between our nations was forever sealed in that ‘Great Crusade.’ As we honor our shared victory and heritage, we affirm the common values that will unite us long into the future: freedom, sovereignty, self-determination, the rule of law, and reverence for the rights given to us by Almighty God.
The British trade minister was no less emphatic on the subject of values. Here is some of what she said:
Our friendship is not some alliance of convenience. It rests rather on shared values and principles. As Winston Churchill put it at his meeting with President Roosevelt on the deck of HMS Prince of Wales ahead of the signing of the Atlantic Charter, “The same language, the same hymns, and the same ideals.”
One of the ideals we share is that
people should be free to buy and sell,
to sign contracts, and to choose their job without obstruction. That ideal has not only elevated and enriched both our countries but produced a world order which has generated unprecedented levels of prosperity and freedom. …
[W]e’re natural economic partners.
We don’t just speak the same language. We share the same values regarding the roles of markets and property. We have similar accounting methods, similar regulatory objectives, similar consumer tastes. What we have not had until now is a formal trade agreement, but as Britain leaves the European Union, that can finally change.
