UK set to start talks with US in bid to reach basic trade deal ahead of looming elections

The UK is poised to start negotiations on a slimline trade deal with the US as part of efforts by both the White House and No 10 to strike a pact before elections on both sides of the Atlantic next year.

Rishi Sunak and Joe Biden are preparing to strike a “foundational” trade agreement, which both administrations believe will boost their chances of re-election in 2024, according to Politico.

Negotiations are due to start later this month, with hopes that initial chapters could be completed by spring next year, according to leaked documents prepared by the United States Trade Representative’s office, Politico reported.

While the documents do not appear to outline market access commitments, which would pave the way for a full free trade agreement, they indicate a significant shift in willingness between the two sides to reach some sort of pact.

Hopes of any type of trade agreement with the world’s biggest economy had appeared dead in the water despite it being a key promise from Brexiteers in the wake of the EU referendum.

But the documents suggest a deal could include striking agreements in controversial areas, such as agriculture, workers’ rights, the environment, supply chains, regulation of services and digital trade..

“We’re discussing and considering a range of things, but all is very much in early stages and nothing has been finalised yet,” a source told the news website.

Under the plans, the target for the completion of the negotiations is spring 2024 – ahead of the US election in November and a potential UK election this time next year.

The move comes after a significant warming in links between the US and UK, following a series of meetings between Mr Sunak and Mr Biden over the last 12 months.

Hints that discussions could become more concrete were made back in February when Mr Sunak successfully struck a new post-Brexit trade deal for Northern Ireland.

The move was widely welcomed by the White House, with US figures insisting major corporations were queuing up to invest in Northern Ireland as a result of its unique position facing both UK and EU markets.

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It marks a major departure from relations between the Biden administration and Downing Street during the tenures of Boris Johnson and Liz Truss.

Both had abandoned hopes of securing any kind of trade agreement with the US following the election of Mr Biden in 2020, preferring instead to try to reach smaller arrangements with individual states.

Any proposals to include farming in a deal is likely to be greeted with extreme caution from the UK’s agricultural sector, particularly in the wake of the agreement Britain has signed with Australia and New Zealand.

Early talks between the US and the UK on a trade deal during Donald Trump’s turbulent presidency raised significant concerns of UK markets being flooded with chlorinated chicken and hormone-injected beef.

The issue became a major sticking point between Mr Johnson’s and Mr Trump’s negotiating teams, before the talks were eventually shelved.

According to Politico, the pact being considered is being modelled on a similar deal struck by the US in its Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity, which the US signed to limit regulation and non-tariff barriers with countries, such as South Korea, Thailand and Fiji.