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Britain’s hopes of securing an early trade deal with the United States have been dashed by a warning from Joe Biden, the president-elect, that the United States will not sign a trade deal with anyone until the United States has resolved its competitiveness.
Britain had been closing in on a trade deal with the administration of Donald Trump, a fierce opponent of the European Union, but Biden has said in a New York Times interview that his priority will be to improve investment in American manufacturing and protection. of Amerian. workers.
“I am not going to sign any new trade agreements with anyone until we have invested heavily here at home and in our workers and in education,” he said.
Some Brexiters had touted a trade deal with the United States as one of the first benefits of leaving the EU and its customs union, although the economic value of such a deal had been questioned.
Biden told the New York Times: “I want to make sure that we are going to fight like hell by investing in America first.” He called energy, biotechnology, advanced materials and artificial intelligence as ripe areas for large-scale government investment in research.
The comments underscore the extent to which leading Democrats have withdrawn from a full embrace of globalization, and insist that US foreign policy must prioritize US domestic interests.
The UK Foreign Office and trade departments still have a number of trade deals in the offing, and may pursue a trade deal with Asia-Pacific nations as a way to fill the gap that priorities are likely to create. of Biden. The UK cannot formally commit to the new administration until its inauguration in January, but it has been making contacts with high-ranking Democratic senators.
Biden also suggested that the best route to gain influence over trade with China was to build alliances to compete with it. Biden said his “goal would be to pursue trade policies that actually advance China’s abusive practices – that’s stealing intellectual property, ditching products, illegally subsidizing corporations,” and forcing “technology transfers” from US companies to their Chinese counterparts. .
He said leverage could be built by building a national consensus in favor of domestic investment, including in American semiconductors.
He said that he would not lift any tariffs on China at the moment, but would conduct a review. “China’s best strategy, I think, is one that puts all of our, or at least those who used to be, allies on the same page. It will be a high priority for me in the first weeks of my presidency to try to get us back on the same page with our allies. “
The EU has already sent a note to Biden’s team seeking a common strategy on China.
Biden also, for the first time since his election, made clear that he was committed to trying to get the United States and Iran back into compliance with the existing nuclear deal signed in 2015 before attempting to negotiate an update or expansion of the deal. Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the deal in 2018, imposing heavy economic sanctions. Iran has responded by easing its commitments under the enriched uranium reserve agreement, but has allowed UN inspections of its nuclear sites to continue.
Some have argued that Biden should not lift crippling US sanctions until Iran has committed to a broader agreement that includes its missile program, regional behavior, and updates some of the commitments in the existing agreement.
Biden said, “Look, there’s a lot of talk about precision missiles and a whole range of other things that are destabilizing the region.” He added that the best way to achieve stability in the region was to deal “with the nuclear program.”
If Iran were to get a nuclear bomb, he added, it would put enormous pressure on the Saudis, Turkey and Egypt. and others to get nuclear weapons themselves. “And the last thing we need in that part of the world is a build-up of nuclear capacity,” he said.
Then, added Biden, “in consultation with our allies and partners, we will enter into negotiations and follow-up agreements to tighten and lengthen Iran’s nuclear limitations, as well as address the missile program.” He added that he would like more than the existing signatories to this agreement – France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Russia and China – to be signatories to any new agreement, but for other regional players, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, to be on board.
He said the US, once back on the deal, could ask for the return of the UN sanctions if it felt that Iran was not yet abiding by its terms, something it said Iran knew.
