BAB members will remember that as part of the State Visit back in September, the UK and the US signed a second framework agreement called the Technology Prosperity Deal. Thanks to the work of BAB senior policy manager, Francesca Lentini, we have now published an analysis of this agreement which you can find on the BAB website by following the link here. The agreement sets out a series of objectives for co-operation and collaboration on future facing technologies including AI, quantum computing and civil nuclear power, with the overall idea that working together, the US and UK will be able to maintain or achieve global leadership in these areas.
This analysis follows our earlier assessment of the Economic Prosperity Deal (EPD) which covers broader trade and investment issues which you can see here. Our plan is to produce an update to our original analysis to mark the 6-month anniversary of the EPD and to assess what progress has been made on the issues that were contemplated by the agreement. In truth, we expect this to be a bit of a mixed bag of results with the 10% tariffs seemingly here to stay and some very tricky, multi-dimensional issues to negotiate in sectors like pharma, steel, and agriculture.
There is no bigger cheerleader than BAB for the idea of US UK trade and investment agreements like the EPD and the TPD, even when they are more conceptual than substantive in nature as these are, and we have the same level of enthusiasm for other international trade agreements that the UK has been pursuing; this is all good stuff.
But having spent a lot of time in the UK over the last couple of months, talking to BAB members and listening to the mood, it is absolutely clear that these international trade efforts, worthy as they are, are wholly insufficient to realize the kind of ‘pro-business, pro-growth’ environment in the UK that the government promised and continues to say is its priority. Frankly, the same feels true about the Modern Industrial Strategy which is designed to be the bedrock of the government’s approach to creating business growth; whilst, again, the sector plans which you can read here, are all very laudable in their intentions, and no doubt are the result of extensive research and consultation, they risk being undermined by the more general challenges to business which I hear about continuously.
In the end, the threshold issues of tax, regulation, energy and labour costs, planning and infrastructure, and the way returns for entrepreneurs and corporate investors are treated, will have a far greater impact on the UK’s future as a business-friendly economy than anything else. In this context, there is an important budget coming up in the UK on November 26 and we, along with most BAB members, will be watching very closely.
BAB has had a busy few weeks across our offices with major events in New York, London and Washington. I attended a reception at the British Residence in DC during IMF week, where I was able to speak briefly to the Chancellor; and the following week in New York, we welcomed our Vice Chair, Sean Doyle, CEO of British Airways for a CEO Roundtable at Standard Chartered and the same evening held our Chairman’s Reception at Bank of America, with huge thanks to our Board Chair, Alastair Borthwick.
And in London, on November 5th we held our annual gala lunch with guest of honour, Ambassador Warren Stephens. More than 200 BAB members and friends joined the Ambassador along with government ministers, Sir Chris Bryant and Seema Malhotra, as well as leaders of other leading trade and business associations. In an echo of my comments earlier in this note, the Ambassador used our platform to speak openly about the UK’s high energy prices as a disincentive for investment and we expect this kind of messaging to continue.
And we have more events to come before we wrap up for the year with Holiday celebrations planned in New York and London as usual and I hope to see many of you at these events.
In the meantime, for your calendar, please note we will be holding our annual Trade and Investment Policy Conference in London on February 2nd with a terrific line up of topics and speakers. Keep an eye on our website for further details and you can register your interest in attending here.
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