Chancellor lauds special relationship with US
Gordon Brown has made the case for greater trade with the USA in a speech to the CBI today.
On the eve of president Bush’s state visit, the Chancellor has set out the benefits of expanding trade with the USA, arguing that this represents the EU’s best route to greater prosperity and that it could create one million jobs.
The appeal follows the prime minister’s case for European Union membership at the same conference yesterday. However, it comes at a troubled time for USA and EU trade relations as the two sides are on the brink of a trade war.
The World Trade Organisation last week concluded that the USA’s steel tariffs, which were put in place by George W Bush ahead of Congressional elections, are illegal. The EU has now been granted the legal right to take punitive measures and many have suggested placing tariffs on goods from politically sensitive parts of the USA such as Florida.
This is not the first transatlantic trade row in recent years, with each side raising concerns ranging from banana regulations to export subsidies. However, Gordon Brown warned against a ‘tit for tat’ trade war, and has called for both sides to rise above such concerns to focus on the benefits of greater trade.
Efforts to resolve the steel tariff problem have barely begun, but the chancellor announced a separate new pact with the US to allow more Britons to study in America, as well as enabling a study of the benefits of fairer trade.
Mr Brown also used the speech to press the case for greater liberalisation in the EU, and argued that governments should keep out of the way of wealth creating firms.
And with international turmoil on economists’ minds, Gordon Brown has promised the Confederation of British Industry that the government will continue to prioritise economic stability. He further highlighted the fact that the UK has avoided recession when the USA Germany and France have not.
