Trade agreement between the US and UK is intent and negotiation rather than a signed declaration
The US & UK trade deal agreement is a statement of intent and tariff negotiation rather than a signed declaration, say leading tax, audit and business advisory firm, Blick Rothenberg.
Simon Gleeson, head of US corporate desk at the firm said: “Is it a diplomatic win for both sides? The full and comprehensive agreement announced today appears more like a statement of intent and tariff-mitigation rather than the much longed-for signed declaration that would have needed to be approved by US Congress. Industries like steel, aluminium and car manufacturing show how narrow today’s focus has been, £59.3 billion compared with £137bn in services.”
He added: “What is clear is that poor market conditions and the volatile reaction of the bond market has brought sense and sensibility to the negotiating table. We have moved from strong rhetoric to a more positive approach laying the foundations to create a mutually respectful bilateral agreement between strong allies.”
Simon said: “Today’s triumphant tone from the US is being championed as ray of optimism bringing stability against a backdrop of the bleak UK economic outlook, much of which has been blamed on chancellor Reeves and her miscalculations in her Autumn Statement. Whether it is enough to reduce the damage that has been done and clear the clouds over-shadowing strong performing UK sectors like Services is yet to be seen. Tariffs create uncertainty, and uncertainty creates a drag which weighs heavily on economic growth, the first signs being stagflation then recession which history has shown never pass quickly.”
He added: “An increase of taxes in the next budget is likely, whether that is changes to rates like Capital Gains Tax or lowering thresholds to draw more of the working population into the middle-income tax net.”