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Muchas gracias, President President. May I join the United States delegation, led by our distinguished colleague Ambassador Maria Pagan, and her colleagues here and in DC at the 15th Trade Policy Review. Big thanks also to our distinguished discussant ambassador Spencer. I’m glad to see they both got the memo about the dress code this morning, President. There’s still time to pick up your Santa suit so you can get all color-coordinated this afternoon.
Let me begin with a word about the ties that bind the UK and the United States of America. Normally, we don’t just sit next to each other – and I realize we’re a little further apart this morning. Our nations have a deep and unique relationship based on shared history, values and aspirations. We do more together than any other two countries in the world with extraordinary cooperation at every level of society, culture, defence, intelligence and economy.
Our heads of government have made clear their commitment to open societies and open markets as the best way to deliver tangible benefits to ordinary citizens. And of course, picking up on the Ambassador’s comments, we once again stand together in support of our Ukrainian friends in their fight for independence over the past nine months – and ours.
We have worked together to ensure our businesses do business and our customers enjoy a greater variety and range of products and services. In parallel, the UK is also strengthening relationships with individual states to deepen our overall trade and investment relationship.
Chairman, the US is at the heart of this organization and its leadership is paramount to the survival and success of the WTO. As former US trade rep and World Bank president Bob Zoellick said, “It is in the self-interest of the major developed states – and in the global interest – to be the architects of the future, along with others.” Since the creation of the GATT 75 years ago this year, the US has always played a crucial role in shaping the global trading system.
We welcome the US recognition that trade can and indeed should be a force for good. We support President Biden’s emphasis on democracy and open societies, and we believe that free and fair trade is close to the heart of this. So today I want to tell our American friends that the WTO needs the US more than ever. US leadership – visible leadership – is critical to global prosperity and the effective functioning of this organization. I therefore urge the US to join us in setting ambition and engagement in all WTO dossiers.
And we need not look back very far to see that an allied United States is beneficial to this organization. The US played an important role during MC12 in concluding that historic first phase of fisheries subsidy negotiations, for which we should all be grateful. We also appreciate the constructive role played in helping to secure agreement on the Ministerial Declaration on Emergency Response to Food Insecurity – such a critical issue for members of this organization.
One area where the United Kingdom – like, I suspect, others here this morning – believes we need to make more progress is the dispute settlement system. Without a fully functioning dispute settlement system we are all unable to fully realize the benefits of the agreements we have negotiated. We welcome the US initiative to convene an informal process on dispute settlement reform.
But we must now fulfill our mandate given by our Ministers to achieve a complete and well-functioning system as soon as possible, and by 2024. To get there, it is incumbent on all of us to come together with focus, urgency and togetherness. To reach agreement on meaningful reforms, with pragmatism. Needless to say, the United States of America has a key role to play in helping to find a solution that can command the support of all members of this organization.
Chairman, since your last TPR in 2018, the world has faced some of the greatest challenges of our time. We are all still grappling with the economic and health impacts of the pandemic which shows how important it is to keep trade flowing and supply chains open. And our future is more at risk than ever because of climate change.
COP 27 in Sharm el-Sheikh has given us a lot to do. We all face the challenge of transitioning to a greener economy and ensuring the sustainability of our supply chains. I want to salute the Biden Administration, on behalf of our government, for its ground-breaking Inflation Reduction Act this past August, and its visionary environmental provisions. At the same time, our US colleagues will know that my Government, like others here, has serious concerns about some of the Act’s policies which will inadvertently harm British businesses and affect global supply chains in batteries, electric vehicles and wider renewables.
It is in all of our interests to ensure that we do not disrupt the trading links in key industries that we all need if we are to reach net zero. We have been in touch with the US administration about our concerns and I sincerely hope that a solution can be found. We must all work together so that we can achieve our shared ambitions for a greener and more sustainable future in a way that preserves the multilateral trading system and respects WTO rules.
Let me also emphasize that in our pre-written questions, we specifically focused on asking America about procurement barriers, including the Made in America initiative and Buy American policies. We look forward to continuing to work with the US Administration to ensure fair and transparent government procurement through the WTO Government Procurement Agreement and in our bilateral engagement.
Chair, let me highlight just one of many examples of recent successes in our bilateral relationship supporting businesses, consumers and workers on both sides of what we call ‘the pond’.
In early October we saw British sheep being shipped to the US for the first time in 25 years after we worked together to lift the long-standing US ban on British sheep imports. This means over 300 million lucky US consumers will now be able to enjoy the UK’s juicy world-famous lamb for the first time in a generation – washed down with a glass of California Zinfandel, I hope.
And we were pleased to see our US-UK dialogue on the future of transatlantic trade mentioned in the United States government report. Dialogues in Baltimore and Aberdeen earlier this year identified various opportunities for cooperation, including digital trade, support for SMEs, and protecting labor and environmental standards. We look forward to future engagement with the United States on our shared priorities.
Chairman, more than 80 years ago, our two great nations issued the Atlantic Charter, outlining our joint vision for the world’s future amid the chaos of World War II. In that charter, President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill pledged to honor their existing obligations and to promote the enjoyment by all states, no matter how large or small, of access to trade on equal terms. Today, more than ever, this promise needs to be kept, not just by the US and the UK, but by all of us who care about our common future. Thank you so much
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