US firms invest over £14bn in UK businesses for UK-US trade collaboration
US firms have invested more than £14bn into UK businesses, creating 2,500 new jobs, as part of a strengthening of the UK-US trade collaborations for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s meeting with President Joe Biden.
The UK-US current trade relationship is worth £279bn a year, while the amount invested in one another’s economies now exceeds £1tr and the nation’s leaders are expected to step up their work to protect industries and supply chains from threats.
Sunak is set to advise US lawmakers and businessmen that economic and defence cooperation must make up two key focuses of the UK-US alliance, as he travels to Washington DC to meet President Joe Biden.
The existing UK-US relationship means the nations are positioned perfectly to take on these issues and as the economies are so interlinked, with over a million from the UK working for US companies, and vice a versa, uniting and approaching these issues in a coordinated way is essential.
Khalid Talukder, co-founder of DKK Partners commented: “As the UK’s economy slowly recovers and future insights begin to look brighter, it is fantastic to see Sunak taking a serious approach to strengthening existing relationships to help rebuild our nation and protect us from future threats. We have seen in recent times that we must be prepared for the unexpected and taking an international approach will help our nation to remain strong, despite adversity.”
“Our relationship with the US holds a crucial place in our economy, offering improved supply chains, investment opportunities, job creation, and the general support of an international alliance. International relations will play a key role in the recovery of our nation, opening opportunities for businesses to do trade overseas which is known to boost growth. As we head to the future, we hope the UK government will prioritise relationship building to help keep our nation safe, secure, and on the pathway to become an appealing destination for further international activity.”
Wayne Johnson, CEO & co-founder of Encompass Corporation, commented: “Collaboration between the UK and the US is a huge positive for both business economies, supporting investment in key areas such as technology, facilitating the sharing of expertise, and creating new jobs. Combining approaches to wider issues like financial crime can unlock new solutions through technology and regulation, and greater collaboration will only strengthen this.”
“Fintech, in particular, is a booming industry in both the UK and the US and is a lucrative market for investment and trade. A joint approach to technology development, from broad areas such as the cloud to targeted solutions such as Know Your Customer (KYC) process automation, will bolster the capability to tackle financial crime on a global scale.”
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak commented: “The UK and US have always worked in lockstep to protect our people and uphold our way of life. As the challenges and threats we face change, we need to build an alliance that also protects our economies.
“Just as interoperability between our militaries has given us a battlefield advantage over our adversaries, greater economic interoperability will give us a crucial edge in the decades ahead.”
