British Gov’t Blames Biden for Preventing Post-Brexit UK-U.S. Trade Deal

British Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch has accused U.S. President Joe Biden of standing in the way of a post-Brexit trade deal between the United Kingdom and the United States.

Appearing before the Business and Trade Committee on Tuesday, Badenoch laid the blame for the government failing to meet its target of inking free trade agreements (FTAs) with 80 per cent of the rest of the world by this point after Brexit because of opposition from Joe Biden’s White House.

“The biggest thing that has had an impact on us reaching that objective was the change in administration from President Trump to President Biden,” she said reports the Telegraph.

Despite that a post-Brexit UK-U.S. free trade agreement would likely benefit citizens in both countries and indeed likely even favour American industry and workers, Badenoch said that the Biden administration has opted not to pursue such a deal given that they have chosen instead to merely go after smaller scale, single issue trade deals internationally.

“We were carrying out negotiations for a US FTA, but then the administration changed and the Biden administration is just not doing FTAs. What they have basically said is that they’re not doing FTAs with anybody,” the Business Secretary said.

“This isn’t about us, despite a lot of the narrative you might read in the press. It is just their strategy. They are not using free trade agreements,” she added.

While the government minister pointed to Biden as the reason for a deal not being struck, the Conservative government previously faced criticism for a lack of urgency to complete a post-Brexit deal with former President Donald Trump.

Although Mr Trump’s trade agenda largely focussed on returning jobs and industry home from countries such as Communist China and renegotiating the NAFTA with Canada and Mexico on better terms for the United States, he often expressed interest in crafting a large deal with the United Kingdom.

Trump, who was a strong supporter of the populist-nationalist Brexit movement, said that he wished to see a “very substantial” deal inked with the UK, which he said could increase trade between the two countries by “three to four, five times”.

Yet, despite the eagerness shown by the Trump administration, negotiations between Washington and London only began in earnest in May of 2020 and were further hindered by the Chinese coronavirus crisis.

In contrast to President Trump, President Biden, like his former boss Barack Obama, has long been an opponent of Brexit, saying in 2018: “Had I been a Member of Parliament, had I been a British citizen, I would have voted against leaving [the EU].” Biden has also been accused of harbouring anti-British sentiment, given his penchant for highlighting his Irish ancestry — sometimes in an Anglophobic way — despite also having English roots.

However, while the two sides failed to come to a deal before Biden took office, it is not outside the realm of possibility of an agreement being struck should Trump return to the White House next year.

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