Asked whether there was any chance of an agreement being reached before the next House of Commons elections, which should take place by 2024 at the latest, Johnson said “we will try to do that as soon as possible”, but he did not want to offer any agreement. specific dates. Also, in the press release issued by Downing Street after the meeting with Biden on the trade deal, reference was made only briefly and fairly generally.

In addition, Biden did not reject the proposal of then US President Barack Obama, who said before the Brexit referendum that in the event of a withdrawal from the European Union, the United Kingdom would fall to the end of the waiting list to sign a trade deal with the European Union. we. Obama’s successor and Biden’s predecessor, Donald Trump, emphasized that Britain would be at the forefront of this line.

In this regard, British media, citing government sources, reported on Wednesday that alternatives to Downing Street are being considered. The source quoted the source as saying, “There are many different ways to do it. The question is whether the US administration is ready for it. The ball is on the American side. It takes two ways to tango.”

One alternative is to try to join the USMCA, the United States-Canada-Mexico Trade Agreement, which in 2020 superseded the North American Free Trade Area Agreement (NAFTA). This will also lead to a significant reduction in tariffs for a large number of goods. Another solution might be to strike a series of smaller agreements, rather than a single comprehensive agreement, to remove tariffs and barriers in individual sectors, which Biden is said to be inclined to do.

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“This development is a clear acceptance of a change in trade strategy, given that for half a decade after the Brexit vote in 2016, the UK-US trade deal was a key foreign policy objective,” notes the Daily Telegraph.