UK considers joining existing US-Mexico-Canada trade deal as hopes of standalone post-Brexit agreement fade – By Greg Heffer (SKY News) / Sept 22 2021
A senior government figure suggests an alternative route to boosting trans-Atlantic trade could be the UK joining the existing free trade agreement between the US, Mexico and Canada, known as USMCA.
Ministers are considering efforts to join an existing free trade agreement between the US, Mexico and Canada – or to strike a series of mini-deals with America – after Boris Johnson appeared to admit a standalone UK-US free trade deal was not an imminent prospect.
On his visit to New York and Washington DC this week, the prime minister has failed to commit to securing a free trade agreement between Britain and America by the time of the next general election in 2024.
He has also acknowledged that US President Joe Biden has “a lot of fish to fry” as he played down the chances of an agreement being struck soon between the two countries.
A senior government figure has suggested that an alternative route to boosting trans-Atlantic trade could be the UK joining the existing free trade agreement between the US, Mexico and Canada, known as USMCA.
