CNBC Quotes Brian Pomper on US/UK Trade Talks

September 15, 2020

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CNBC has quoted Akin Gump public law and policy practice co-head Brian Pomper in the article “U.S. will use trade talks to pull UK into its ‘regulatory orbit,’ expert says.” The article examines how the United States might try to sway the United Kingdom when the two nations resume trade talks this week.

Pomper said the overarching aim for Washington will be to pull London closer to its own regulatory worldview. To that end, he said, “a lot of the U.S. priorities go beyond just getting market access into the U.K., but rather are about setting a standard on issues where both countries are already high level, like on intellectual property, digital trade, and financial services.” The United States, he added, might then use that model to pressure the European Union.

The article points out that the U.K. could find itself at the center of a tug of war between the trade policies of the United States and EU, and Pomper suggested that the U.K. is “smartly using that as leverage in negotiating with the United States.” A key question for Washington, he said, “is going to be how much regulatory flexibility the U.K. provides itself.”

CNBC reports that, in addition to broad regulatory alignment, the United States will be seeking key concessions on digital taxes against American firms, food standards and agriculture.

Pomper said he expects the U.K. “will ultimately ‘deal’ on digital services taxes and try to trade it off for certain of its priorities. I think that food standards and agriculture more generally could be a true sticking point.”

With a goal of April to reach a deal if both parties want to use Trade Promotion Authority procedures that expire next July, Pomper said the biggest impact of the political landscape “is going to be whether Vice President Biden wins the election and continues to vigorously pursue the [Free Trade Agreement] in light of his comments that his administration would not focus on new trade agreements.”

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