Joint statement on UK-U.S. dialogue on future of Atlantic trade in Aberdeen

On April 25 and 26 United Kingdom Secretary of State for International Trade Anne-Marie Trevelyan and United States Trade Representative Ambassador Katherine Tai hosted the second UK-U.S. Dialogue on the Future of Atlantic Trade in Aberdeen, Scotland. The Dialogue follows Prime Minister Boris Johnson and President Biden’s announcement last year of a new ‘Atlantic Charter’ and builds on the successful inaugural Trade Dialogue in Baltimore earlier in March.

Secretary of State Trevelyan and Ambassador Tai agreed to collaborate further on: delivering practical support for SMEs, digitising UK-U.S. trade in the modern economy, building resilience in critical supply chains, addressing the global trade impacts of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, promoting environmental protection and the transition to net zero, supporting high labour and environmental standards, and promoting innovation and inclusive economic growth for workers and businesses on both sides of the Atlantic.

Over the two days, Secretary of State Anne-Marie Trevelyan and Ambassador Katherine Tai hosted a series of roundtable discussions with a diverse group of stakeholders from the UK and U.S. business community, trade unions and civil society, in additional to bilateral discussions between UK and U.S. officials.

Drawing on the stakeholder discussions and bilateral talks in Aberdeen and Baltimore, Secretary of State Anne-Marie Trevelyan and Ambassador Katherine Tai directed their teams to work at pace over the next several weeks to develop an ambitious roadmap with economically meaningful outcomes, including in the areas of:

Supporting SMEs to trade – Support and enhance UK-U.S. SME trade, by collaborating to identify and overcome barriers to trade, focusing on trade facilitation for SMEs, sharing and promoting best practice, and working together on activities to promote and support SMEs, including those owned by under-represented groups and women entrepreneurs, and those in disadvantaged communities. We intend to harness the June UK-U.S. SME Dialogue in Boston to help achieve these objectives.

Harnessing the benefits of digital trade – Advance outcomes in digital trade that benefit businesses, including SMEs, workers and consumers by supporting the digitalisation of trading systems and transactions. The UK and U.S. will also seek to build on the G7 Digital Trade Principles.

Levelling up and worker-centric trade – Work to develop more durable and inclusive trade policies that demonstrate that trade can be a force for good and create more opportunities for people and gender equity across the UK and U.S. Support the protection of labour rights and tackle forced labour globally.

Supporting resilient supply chains – Collaborate on promoting critical supply chain resilience to help ensure strong and robust supply chains, bringing together expertise from both our nations.

Food security – Support open, predictable, rules-based agricultural trade to mitigate supply chain disruptions and restore global food security imperilled by Russian aggression in Ukraine. Continue to cooperate closely through the current crisis and other issues impacting agricultural supply chains, to help ensure more resilient, efficient and sustainable food systems against future shocks, and to promote the availability of safe, affordable foods for consumers worldwide.

Supporting the environment and climate action – Deepen cooperation on trade and the environment, with work to promote decarbonising our economies consistent with COP26 outcomes, exchanging information, and developing joint approaches to environment and trade, supporting businesses, green jobs and the growth of low-carbon economies.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

The UK and the U.S. stand with Ukraine and its people in the face of the Russian President Putin’s unprovoked, premeditated attack against the sovereign nation of Ukraine. In coordination with their allies and partners, the UK and the U.S. have already adopted unprecedented economic and financial sanctions against Russia, and they stand ready to increase the economic pressure to help bring this war to an end. Ministers agreed that their officials would remain closely coordinated, and they will encourage other international partners, including the G7 and other WTO Members, to take action in support of Ukraine’s economic recovery.